CPI-M's Jharna Das Baidya re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Tripura

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Jharna Das Baidya of Tripura's ruling CPI-M was on Monday re-elected to the Rajya Sabha, defeating Congress candidate and former Tripura assembly speaker Jyotirmoy Nath.

Election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state was held on Monday at the Tripura assembly as Baidya's six-year term ends on April 2.

"Jharna Das Baidya got 49 votes while Congress candidate Nath secured only 10 votes," assembly secretary Bamdeb Majumder, who was also the returning officer for the election, told reporters.

Ailing Communist Party of India-Marxist legislator and minister (without portfolio) Bhanu Lal Saha could not vote as he was out of Tripura for cancer treatment.

The CPI-M candidate's win was almost certain as the strength of the ruling Left Front in the 60-member house is 50, with the CPI-M alone having 48 members. The main opposition Congress has 10 members.

Before being elected to the upper house of parliament, Baidya had served as the chairperson of the State Social Welfare Board.

The 53-year-old belongs to the Scheduled Caste community and is a senior member of the All India Democratic Women's Association, a women's body of the CPI-M.