Agartala, April 7: A keenly watched multi-cornered contest is set to unfold in the April 9 by-election to the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency in North Tripura district, which shares borders with Assam and Mizoram. With six candidates in the fray, the bypoll has drawn significant political attention, featuring nominees from major parties, smaller outfits, and an independent contender.
The प्रमुख contenders include Jahar Chakraborti of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Chayan Bhattacharjee representing the Indian National Congress, and Amitabha Datta of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front. Datta is a former MLA, adding experience to the contest, while Chakraborti, 59, currently serves as the BJP’s North Tripura district Vice-President.
Apart from the प्रमुख parties, candidates from the Amra Bangalee party, Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), and an independent aspirant are also contesting, making the electoral battle more competitive.
Notably, the Left Front and the Congress, which had forged a seat-sharing alliance during the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections to jointly challenge the BJP, are contesting separately in this bypoll. This shift has intensified the political contest, potentially splitting opposition votes.
Congress candidate Chayan Bhattacharjee had earlier contested from Dharmanagar in 2023 but lost to BJP’s Biswa Bandhu Sen by a narrow margin of just 956 votes, indicating a closely fought constituency.
The by-election was necessitated following the demise of sitting MLA and former Tripura Assembly Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen, who passed away on December 26, 2025, in Bengaluru after a prolonged illness at the age of 72. Sen had a distinguished political career, winning the seat four times—twice as a Congress candidate in 2008 and 2013, and later as a BJP nominee in 2018 and 2023.
A total of 46,142 voters, including 23,758 women, are eligible to cast their votes. The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
The campaign, which concluded on Tuesday afternoon, saw extensive participation from top leaders, including Chief Minister Manik Saha, BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee, former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, and Congress leaders Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Kumar Saha, underscoring the high stakes of the bypoll.
