Winning both seats, Tripura BJP upset over NDA performance and WB result

AGARTALA: With the unexpected outcome of BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nationally and poor performance in West Bengal, the ruling BJP in Tripura has become upset despite securing a landslide victory in both the parliamentary constituencies and Ramnagar by-poll.
About hundreds of BJP leaders including Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and four cabinet members worked hard for a month in West Bengal for BJP candidates and hoped the saffron party would cross at least half mark there but finished less than half of their expectation, which jolted the party rank and file.
The jubilant supporters of the saffron brigade assembled in 22 counting centres early in the morning in celebrating mode with drums and music system, saffron colours, and firecrackers have started returning almost silently. Since morning, saffron cadres and security personnel occupied the capital city, taking a deserted look after getting the results across the country.
There was no report of violence and terror from any part of the state. Tripura has a tradition of post-result violence from the counting hall that continued for at least a week on the opposition party supporters after every election since 1988, which seems to have stopped from this election.
According to the result, BJP candidate in Tripura West constituency former Chief Minister and sitting Rajya Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb won the seat by a margin of about six lakhs defeating his nearest rival of INDI bloc candidate from Congress Ashis Kumar Saha. While Deb secured 8.70 lakh votes Saha got 2.60 lakh votes as of now.
In the East Tripura parliamentary constituency BJP nominee Kriti Singh Debbarman won by a margin of about 4.90 lakh votes defeating her nearest rival INDI bloc candidate from CPI-M Rajendra Reang. Debbarman got 7.80 lakh votes and Reang secured about three lakhs as of now.
In the 2019 Loksabha elections, BJP’s vote share was 49.6 percent in Tripura where its nominee Pratima Bhoumik won the Tripura West seat by a margin of more than 3.05 lakh votes against Congress nominee Subal Bhowmik who left the saffron party just before the election after he was denied ticket. However, last year before the assembly poll Bhowmik again switched to BJP leaving Congress.
In the Tripura East constituency BJP candidate Rabati Tripura won by a margin of 2.04 lakh votes against his rival from CPI-M’s sitting MP Jitendra Chaudhury. The BJP’s ally in the Tripura government now TIPRA Motha’s founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarman was Congress president during the 2019 Loksabha polls and fielded his elder sister Pragya Debbarman against BJP from Tripura East but couldn’t perform.
Then he left Congress and formed a tribal based party TIPRA Motha in 2020. Weeks before the announcement of the poll schedule, Pradyot joined NDA and ensured the candidature of his other sister from Chhattisgarh Kriti Devi Singh as a BJP candidate from Tripura East, whose candidature is questioned.
Meanwhile, in Ramnagar by-elections BJP candidate and Mayor of Agartala Municipal Corporation, Dipak Majumder won the seat by a margin of over 15000 votes defeating CPI-M candidate Ratan Das. While Majumder secured 20365 votes, Das got only 5359 votes. Ramnagar was won by the BJP in 2023 but in December last year, it’s MLA Surajit Datta died after prolonged suffering, and the seat was left vacant.
As scheduled, the counting of votes began across 22 stations in 20 locations of the state amid high security. The election commission has deployed more than 4000 paramilitary forces along with state police. The district administration has imposed 144 around the counting halls to maintain peace and political violence.
Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha asked his party cadres to maintain peace and tranquility in and outside the counting halls while directing police to take strict action against the persons without considering their political affiliation and status if anybody is found indulging in violence and peace-breaking activity.