BJP’s Jahar Chakraborty has won Dharmanagar by-election in Tripura on Monday by a massive margin of 18,920 votes over CPI(M)’s Amitabha Dutta. Chakraborty secured 24,291 votes, while CPI(M)’s Dutta polled 6,001 votes. Congress candidate Chayan Bhattacharya bagged 5,936 votes. With this victory, the BJP’s tally in the 60-member Assembly has risen to 33, while its allies, Tipra Motha Party (TMP) has 13 MLAs and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura has one. The by-poll was necessitated by the death of former Tripura Assembly Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen in December 2025. Voting for the bypoll was held on April 9 with a turnout of 79.84 per cent. Counting began at 8 am under tight security in North Tripura, with all polled EVMs brought to the counting hall as per schedule. A prohibitory order under Section 163 of BNS was enforced within a 100-metre radius to maintain law and order, and senior police officials monitored the arrangements.
Six candidates were in the fray even as the main contest was between the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha expressed his gratitude to the people of Dharmanagar for favouring the BJP with an overwhelming mandate. “I sincerely express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Dharmanagar for electing Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, Jahar Chakraborty, with an overwhelming majority in the Dharmanagar by-election,” Saha posted on social media. “Your immense support and trust have made us even more responsible. We are committed to working tirelessly towards the overall development, peace, and progress of Dharmanagar. Let us move forward together and take this journey of development even further with everyone’s support,” he said.
