BJP registers massive victory in Dharmanagar bypoll, retains assembly seat

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency in Tripura with a resounding victory in the by-election, the results of which were declared on Monday.

According to the Election Commission, BJP candidate and North Tripura district Vice-President Jahar Chakraborti defeated CPI-M nominee Amitabha Datta by a huge margin of 18,290 votes. Chakraborti secured 24,291 votes, while Datta managed to obtain 6,001 votes. Congress candidate Chayan Bhattacharya received 5,936 votes.

The counting process began at 8 am at the North Tripura district headquarters in Dharmanagar under stringent security arrangements. Officials said postal ballots were counted first, followed by Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes. After completion of four rounds of counting, Returning Officer Debjani Choudhury officially announced the result.

From the initial rounds itself, Chakraborti maintained a commanding lead over his rivals. Central observers appointed by the Election Commission closely monitored the counting process throughout the day.

Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and Tripura BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee congratulated Chakraborti on his emphatic victory.

More than 80 percent of the 46,142 eligible voters, including 23,758 women, exercised their franchise in the April 9 by-election for the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency in North Tripura district.

The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of sitting MLA and former Assembly Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen, who passed away on December 26 last year at a private hospital in Bengaluru after prolonged illness. He was 72.

Sen had represented the constituency four times in the Tripura Assembly. He won twice as a Congress candidate in 2008 and 2013, and later as a BJP nominee in 2018 and 2023. In the 2023 Assembly election, he had defeated Congress leader Bhattacharjee by a narrow margin of 956 votes.

Dharmanagar has largely remained a stronghold of either the Congress or the BJP since 2008. The CPI-M last won the seat in 2003 with Amitabha Datta as its candidate.

The by-election witnessed a multi-cornered contest, as the Left Front and Congress — allies during the 2023 Assembly polls — fought separately this time, making the electoral battle more competitive.