AGARTALA, Sept 3: Campaigning for the September 5 bypolls in
Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura’s Sepahijala
district ended on Sunday.
In both the constituencies, BJP organised mega rallies, road
shows, motorbike rallies and door-to-door campaigns to reach
out to voters.
Chief minister Manik Saha led the party’s campaign from the
front while ministers, MLAs and leaders joined the campaign
trail in the last couple of days.
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 an 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 minority-dominated Boxanagar constituency, still
considered the Left party’s stronghold.
Despite efforts by the BJP, the CPI(M) had managed to retain
the seat by a margin of 4,849 votes. Of the total 43,087 voters,
electors from the minority community count for around 55 per
cent, which is seen as a major vote bank for the CPI(M).
Dhanpur, once a strong bastion of the communists, is heading
for direct fight between BJP’s Bindu Debnath and CPI(M)’s
Kaushik Debnath. According to political analysts, two
independent candidates who are in the battle are unlikely to
make any impact.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, the BJP won by a margin of
3,500 votes and the Tipra Motha nominee had polled over
8,000 votes, which ensured the saffron party’s victory after 25
five years.
Mizan is the son of Boxanagar CPI(M) MLA Samsol Haque who
passed away in July causing a vacancy. The bypoll in Dhanpur
was necessitated after Union minister Pratima Bhoumik
resigned from the assembly days after her election.
“The campaign for the bypolls in two Assembly constituencies
came to an end on Sunday without any trouble. All steps have
been taken to ensure free, fair and peaceful bypolls on
September 5”, Sepahijala district magistrate told PTI.
Out of the total 110 booths, around 34 have been categorised
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. (PTI)
