By Firstdespatch Desk Sep 08, 2023
Agartala, Sept 8 (FD) The ruling BJP today easily crushed the opposition CPI-M in a direct contest in the by-elections for two assembly constituencies – Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Sepahijala district and secured a landslide victory.
The minority dominated Boxanagar seat, which was in the clutch of Marxists for the last 25 years, went in favour of the saffron party for the first time. BJP candidate Tafajjal Hossain won the seat, which has around 66 per cent minority voters, by 30,237 votes. Hossain got 34,146 votes, while his nearest rival Mizan Hossain of the CPI (M) got 3,909 votes leaving a difference of 30237.
Dhanpur was the home turf of the Union Minister of State for Women Empowerment and Social Justice, Pratima Bhowmik, who won the seat seven months ago in the February 16 elections, but chose not to take oath as an MLA. The saffron candidate Bindu Debnath bagged the seat by a margin of 18,871 votes. Debnath secured 30,017 votes, and his nearest rival Kaushik Chanda of the CPI(M) got 11,146 votes. There are a sizable number of tribal voters in the constituency.
However, the opposition CPI-M had boycotted the counting on the plea that despite informing the Election Commission of India (ECI) about large scale rigging on the day of elections held on September 5 last and demanding for countermanding the election process in both the constituencies it did not pay heed to their demands.
The two constituencies had witnessed a direct contest between the Marxists and the saffron parties as the opposition Congress and Tipramotha, a tribal based party refrained from participating in the elections.
An average turnout of 86.50 per cent was recorded in the two seats. The counting was held at the Sonamura amid tight security.
The by-election to the Boxanagar constituency was necessitated by the death of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque.
BJP’s tally in the 60-member assembly rose to 33. Its ally IPFT has one MLA, while the opposition Tipra Motha has 13 MLAs, CPI(M) has 10 and the Congress has three MLAs.
Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, who was the Chief campaigner in the by-elections, has greeted the voters of the two constituencies for overwhelmingly supporting his party and exercising their franchise in a peaceful manner.
“I thank the people of Boxanagar & Dhanpur assembly constituencies for this landslide victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in the bye-polls. This victory represents the people's continuous faith in PM Shri @narendramodiJi & @BJP4IndiaPresident@JPNaddaJi, We shall continue to work to fulfill the people's aspirations”, he said in a facebook post.
He also told reporters that this victory was the triumph of democracy as the elections were completely peaceful and people cast their votes in a free, fair and conducive atmosphere. FD JK