Tripura Bypolls: BJP wins 3 seats including CM Manik Saha, Congress bags 1

Agartala: The ruling BJP today won three seats in the Tripura bypolls, while the opposition Congress won one seat. Elections had been held on June 23 in the four politically-crucial Assembly constituencies. The victors include Chief Minister Manik Saha who was elected to the state assembly for the first time from Town Bordowali.

Data shared by the Election Commission of India indicates that the Chief Minister had won by a margin of over 6,000 votes against Congress' Asish Kumar Saha. BJP's Malina Debnath had won from the Jubarajnagar constituency with 51.83% of votes. And fellow BJP leader Swapna Das had won from Surma with 42.34% of the votes.

Meanwhile Congress leader Sudip Roy Barman had emerged victorious with BJP's Ashok Sinha as the trailing candidate, having polled 43.46% of the votes in the Agartala constituency. The BJP turned Congress leader's win also marks the re-entry of the Congress into the 60-member state assembly after several years.

Over 78.58% of the 1,89,032-strong electorate had cast their votes on Thursday in the by-elections to four Assembly constituencies in Tripura. In all 22 candidates including seven women fought the by-elections. The by-election is being termed by the political pundits as a "semi-final" before the 60-member Assembly's general elections, which is just eight months away.

The poll results however appears to have sparked off a violent row between the two parties, with at least 19 people injured in front of Congress Bhavan in Agartala on Sunday. The clash between Congress and BJP supporters had prompted the police to fire tear gas in order to disperse the mob.

"Jubilant Congress supporters returned to Congress Bhavan with the winning candidate in Agartala assembly seat, Sudip Roy Barman, from the counting hall around 1 pm. When they were preparing for lunch, a strong group of BJP supporters attacked Congress Bhavan. The Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president was hit by bricks on his head while one Congress worker, identified as Romi Miah, was stabbed by BJP supporters," Congress media-in-charge Asish Kumar Saha said.