Tripura bypolls in Dhanpur, Boxanagar seats tomorrow; BJP and CPI(M) in direct contest

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PTI reports. CPI(M) politburo member Manik Sarkar and party's state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury along with leaders campaigned for its candidates, but Tipra Motha, the main opposition, and Congress stayed away from campaigning making the electoral battle a one-on-one contest. BJP's Tafajjal Hussain, who unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election in February, will take on CPI(M)’s Mizan Hussain in the minority-dominated Boxanagar constituency.

The CPI(M) had managed to retain the seat by a margin of 4,849 votes. Mizan is the son of Boxanagar CPI(M) MLA Samsol Haque who passed away in July causing a vacancy. On the other hand, Dhanpur is heading for a direct fight between BJP's Bindu Debnath and CPI(M)’s Kaushik Debnath.

Political analysts said that two independent candidates who are in the battle are unlikely to make any impact, PTI reported. The bypoll in Dhanpur was necessitated after Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik resigned from the Assembly days after her election. Speaking to PTI, theSepahijala district magistrate said that the campaign for the bypolls in two assembly constituencies came to an end on Sunday without any trouble and all steps have been taken to ensure fair bypolls on September 5.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, the BJP won by a margin of 3,500 votes, and the Tipra Motha nominee polled over 8,000 votes, which ensured the saffron party's victory after 25 five years. Out of the total 110 booths, around 34 have been categorized as vulnerable where paramilitary forces will be deployed, he said, adding around 2,500 CRPF and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) jawans have been deployed for the polls. (With PTI inputs)