GUWAHATI: The ruling BJP in Tripura won the by-elections to two Assembly seats in the state by huge margins of votes on Friday. It retained the Dhanpur seat and captured the Boxanagar seat from CPI(M) to increase its tally to 33 in the 60-member Assembly.
BJP’s Taffajal Hossain defeated Mizan Hossain of CPI(M) by 30,237 votes in Boxanagar. Similarly, the ruling party’s Bindu Debnath drubbed CPI(M)’s Kaushik Chanda by 18,871 votes in Dhanpur. The two parties were up against each other in the two seats.
The two BJP winners were euphoric. They said people rejected the CPI(M) as they believed only the BJP could take the country and the state forward.
The by-elections to Dhanpur seat were necessitated by Union minister Pratima Bhoumik’s resignation from the Assembly. In Boxanagar, the death of sitting MLA Samsul Haque was the reason behind the by-polls. Both constituencies were once CPI(M)’s strongholds.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front boycotted the counting of votes alleging the by-elections were rigged by the BJP. It said although it had drawn the attention of the Election Commission time and again right from the beginning of polling, no positive steps were taken to prevent rigging.
“In this backdrop, the Tripura Left Front demanded to countermand the rigged election to these two constituencies and go for the announcement of a fresh election. But surprisingly, the Election Commission has not budged,” the Left Front had said.
The BJP denied the charges, claiming the elections were held in a free and fair manner and that there was a festive mood among voters.
The Congress and the Tipra Motha Party did not contest the polls to avoid the division of anti-BJP votes. The Congress had also campaigned for the CPI(M) candidates.