Tripura's Dharmanagar Bypoll Sees Nearly 80% Turnout, Peaceful Polling

An election official said that no major untoward incident was reported during the polling, which began at 7 a.m. across 55 polling stations in the Dharmanagar Assembly seat.

Polling continued in the mixed-population Assembly constituency until 5 p.m. without any break.

At a few polling stations, the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) developed glitches.

However, technical personnel of the Election Commission promptly replaced or rectified the voting machines.

The election official added that the polling percentage is likely to increase slightly once complete reports are received from all 55 polling stations.

A total of 46,142 voters, including 23,758 women, were eligible to cast their votes to decide the electoral fate of six candidates.

Election authorities, along with the state police, put in place elaborate measures to ensure that the polling process remained free, fair, and transparent.

Out of the 55 polling stations, 11 were managed entirely by women personnel, while two stations each were operated by differently-abled staff and youth polling teams, reflecting efforts toward inclusive electoral participation.

The Dharmanagar Assembly constituency has remained a stronghold of either the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2008, with the CPI-M last winning the Assembly seat in 2003.

A multi-cornered contest has made the electoral battle highly competitive.

The six candidates in the fray include nominees from major political parties, smaller outfits, and an Independent candidate.

Key candidates include Jahar Chakraborti of the BJP, Chayan Bhattacharjee of the Congress, and Amitabha Datta representing the CPI-M-led Left Front.

Datta, a former MLA, had won the seat in the 2003 Assembly elections.

Chakraborti, 59, currently serves as the BJP's North Tripura district Vice-President.

In addition, candidates from the Amra Bangali party, Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist, and an Independent aspirant are also contesting the bypoll, further intensifying the political contest.

The Left Front and the Congress, which had entered into a seat-sharing arrangement during the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections to jointly challenge the BJP, are contesting separately in this bypoll, adding another dimension to the contest.

Supported by the Left parties, Congress leader Chayan Bhattacharjee had earlier contested the Dharmanagar Assembly seat in 2023 but lost narrowly to BJP candidate Biswa Bandhu Sen by a margin of 956 votes.

The bypoll was necessitated by the demise of sitting MLA and Tripura Assembly Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen, who passed away on December 26, 2025, at a private hospital in Bengaluru after a prolonged illness at the age of 72.

Sen had been elected to the Tripura Assembly four times -- twice as a Congress candidate in 2008 and 2013, and later in 2018 and 2023 as a BJP nominee from the same Assembly constituency.

The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.

- IANS