CPI(M) wins Tripura by-polls, BJP dislodges Congress from second spot

The CPI(M) candidate in Pratapgarh constituency, Ramu Das defeated his nearest BJP candidate, Mousami Das by a margin of 17,326 votes

Ruling CPI(M) won both the Pratapgarh (SC) and Surma (SC) assembly seats by a huge margin in Tripura where by-elections were held as the BJP made inroads into the left bastion dislodging Congress from the second position.

In the by-election results announced during the day, CPI(M) candidate in Pratapgarh constituency, Ramu Das defeated his nearest BJP candidate, Mousami Das by a margin of 17,326 votes.

The BJP contestant got 10,229 votes this time while Congress candidate Ranjit Kumar Das secured only 5,187 votes relegated to the third position.

In Surma constituency by-poll, the CPI(M) candidate Anjan Das defeated his nearest rival of BJP,  Asish Das by a margin of 15,309 votes.

In Surma, Congress candidate Nagendra Biswas secured only 2,528 votes, which is only 7.41% of the total vote and his deposit was forfeited.

The BJP candidate Asish Das secured 7,966 votes - or 23.36% of the total votes polled - in Surma.

In the 2013 Pratapgarh Assembly polls, CPI(M) candidate Anil Sarkar had won the elections by defeating nearest Congress rival, Ranjit Kumar Das by a margin of 2,132 votes.

Interestingly, the BJP did not contest the Pratapgraph assembly elections due to organisational weakness in 2013.

In the 2013 assembly polls to Surma constituency, Sudhir Das of CPI (M) had secured 18,648 votes and won the election by a margin of only 1,862 votes by defeating his Congress rival Sukharanjan Das who had secured 16,786 votes.

BJP President Sudhindra Dasgupta said today, "We knew that we would not be able to win the by-elections this time, but expected more votes and better results. But we are sure that we would win in the next assembly elections to be held in 2018 and capture power to give better governance."

While the Pratapgarh seat fell vacant due to the death of CPI(M) veteran and former minister Anil Sarkar, by-poll was necessitated in Surma following the death of sitting Marxist MLA Sudhir Das.

Sarkar won from his constituency for eight times at a stretch since 1978 and Das won the Surma seat on five consecutive occasions since 1993.

An estimated 50,018 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fortune of five candidates in the Pratapgarh constituency of West Tripura district, while 42,052 electors resolved the fate of four aspirants in Surma constituency in Dhalai district.

A CPI (M) leader, not wishing to be named said, it (the result trend) was a matter of concern for the party.