In upcoming Lok Sabha elections, 17,000 Bru people to caste vote

Agartala: In the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, around 17,000 Bru people living in Tripura are gearing up to exercise their right to vote, marking a major milestone in their resettlement journey.
The October 1997 exodus of Bru (Reang) families from Mizoram due to ethnic violence led to a significant exodus of the North Tripura district in 1997–1998.
About 30,000 Bru migrants comprising 5,000 families took shelter in six relief camps set up in Kanchanpur district of North Tripura.
On 3 July 2018, a landmark agreement was reached between the Centre, Mizoram and Tripura governments and the Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF) for the permanent resettlement of the Bru people in Tripura.
Subsequently, they were resettled at 12 locations in Tripura.
Addressing the media, Tripura Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Puneet Agarwal highlighted the steps taken during the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections to cater to the electoral needs of the borough community.
In view of the movement of borough families to different districts, auxiliary polling stations were set up during assembly elections, later converted into permanent polling stations.
This proactive approach facilitated the inclusion of most of the Bru families in the voter list.
Agarwal emphasized that the Bru issue remained important during the last assembly elections, leading to the establishment of permanent polling stations at 12 settlement locations.
As a result, an estimated 17,000 Bru people will participate in Tripura’s democratic process, a major step in their integration into the state’s electoral framework.