Jahar Chakraborti of the Bharatiya Janata Party registered a commanding and decisive victory in the Dharmanagar Assembly bypoll in Tripura on Monday, defeating his nearest rival from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) by a substantial margin of 18,920 votes, further consolidating the party’s political hold in the state.
According to the official results, Chakraborti secured a total of 24,291 votes, comfortably outpacing CPI(M) candidate Amitabha Datta, who managed 6,001 votes. The Indian National Congress nominee Chayan Bhattacharya finished close behind with 5,936 votes, reflecting a fragmented opposition vote. The by-election recorded a high voter turnout of 79.84 per cent, indicating strong public participation and interest in the contest despite it being a single-seat poll.
The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of Biswa Bandhu Sen in December 2025, which led to the Dharmanagar constituency falling vacant. Sen had been a senior BJP leader and his passing created both a political and symbolic contest, with the ruling party aiming to retain the seat and reaffirm its support base.
With this victory, the BJP’s tally in the 60-member Tripura Legislative Assembly has increased to 33 seats, strengthening its position as the dominant political force in the state. Its alliance partners, the Tipra Motha Party and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura, hold 13 and one seats respectively, ensuring that the ruling coalition maintains a comfortable majority and political stability in the Assembly.
Chief Minister Manik Saha welcomed the outcome and expressed his appreciation to the electorate of Dharmanagar for extending what he described as overwhelming support to the BJP candidate. He stated that the result reflects continued public confidence in the government’s policies and governance approach, and added that the mandate increases the responsibility on the administration to deliver on development commitments.
Saha emphasised that the government would continue to focus on infrastructure development, maintaining peace and law and order, and ensuring inclusive growth across the region. He also highlighted that such electoral outcomes reinforce the party’s long-term political strategy in Tripura, especially in the face of opposition efforts to regain ground.
Overall, the bypoll result not only secures the Dharmanagar seat for the BJP but also serves as a broader indicator of the party’s sustained electoral strength in Tripura, while underlining the challenges faced by opposition parties in mounting a unified and effective contest.
