Agartala, September 3: Voting for the by-election of Tripura’s lone Rajya Sabha seat commenced at 9 AM on Tuesday at the Tripura Legislative Assembly in Agartala.
The election comes after the resignation of former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who vacated the Rajya Sabha seat upon being elected as a Lok Sabha member earlier this year.
A total of 60 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from Tripura, representing various political factions, are participating in the voting process.
These include members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and TIPRA Motha, as well as opposition parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) and the Congress.
The contest for the Rajya Sabha seat is primarily between BJP candidate Rajib Bhattacharjee, who currently serves as the state president of the party, and CPI(M) candidate Sudhan Das, a former MLA with significant political experience.
The composition of the Assembly is as follows: the ruling BJP commands a majority with 33 MLAs, TIPRA Motha contributes 13 MLAs, and IPFT has one MLA. On the opposition side, CPI(M) holds 10 seats, while the Congress has three MLAs.
Speaking on the significance of the election, BJP candidate Rajib Bhattacharjee expressed confidence in securing the seat, citing the unity and strength of the ruling coalition.
“After getting elected and becoming member of the Parliament my priority will be to continue the developmental agenda for Tripura which was started by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he became PM in 2014,” Bhattacharjee stated.
Meantime, CM Tripura Manik Saha expressed that he is total confident that all 47 votes of the ruling BJP alliance will make Rajib Bhattacharjee victorious.
The results of the election to de declared in the evening today and it will determine who will represent Tripura in the Rajya Sabha, influencing the state’s voice in the national legislative process.
