Tripura bypolls in Dhanpur, Boxanagar seats tomorrow

The campaign activities for the upcoming bypolls on September 5th in Dhanpur and Boxanagar Assembly seats, located in Tripura’s Sepahijala district, concluded on Sunday.

The ruling party BJP conducted extensive campaigns in both constituencies, including large rallies, motorcycle processions, road shows and door-to-door campaigns to connect with the voters.

Chief Minister Manik Saha took a leading role in spearheading the party’s campaign efforts, with ministers, MLAs, and other leaders joining in the campaign activities during the final days.

On the other hand, CPIM politburo member Manik Sarkar, along with the party’s state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury and other leaders, actively campaigned for their candidates.

However, Tipra Motha, the primary opposition party, and the Congress chose not to participate in the campaign, turning the electoral competition into a direct face-off.

In the minority-dominated Boxanagar constituency, which has traditionally been a stronghold for the Left party, BJP’s Tafajjal Hussain, the unsuccessful candidate in the February Assembly election, will compete against CPIM’s Mijan Hussain in the current by-election.

Despite efforts by the BJP, the CPIM had managed to retain the seat by a margin of 4,849 votes.

Out of the total 43,087 voters in Boxanagar, 55% are the minority community, which is a major vote bank for the CPIM.

Dhanpur, formerly a stronghold of the communist party is now set for a head-to-head contest between CPIM’s Kaushik Debnath and BJP’s Bindu Debnath.

Political experts believe that the two independent candidates participating in the election are unlikely to have a significant influence.

During the 2023 Assembly elections, the BJP secured a victory with a margin of 3,500 votes while the Tipra Motha candidate received over 8,000 votes.

Sepahijala District Magistrate said, “The campaign for the by-elections in two Assembly constituencies concluded peacefully on Sunday. All necessary measures have been implemented to guarantee a fair, peaceful and free by-election on September 5.”

He added, “Out of the total 110 polling stations, approximately 34 have been identified as vulnerable, where paramilitary forces will be stationed. It includes the deployment of around Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 2,500 personnel and the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) for the polling process.”