Major upset in Tripura: Deputy CM Jishnu Dev Varma loses his seat

In a surprising turn of events, Tripura Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma has lost his seat in the Charilam-19 constituency with 800 votes against Tipra Motha candidate. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Manik Saha has emerged victorious from the crucial 8 Town Bordowali Assembly constituency, securing a key win for his party in one of the most closely watched races of the election. However, official confirmation of Jishnu Dev Varma's defeat is awaited. 

The Town Bordowali constituency is widely considered to be one of the most important battlegrounds in Tripura's 60 assembly constituencies, and the victory is seen as a significant boost for the ruling party. The by-elections were held in 2022 after several seats were left vacant due to the resignation of sitting MLAs.

While the loss of the Deputy Chief Minister's seat is a setback for the party, Chief Minister Saha's win is expected to give the ruling party a much-needed boost. 
The Chief Minister's victory is being seen as a major vote of confidence in his leadership and policies, particularly his focus on improving the state's economy and infrastructure. Saha has pledged to continue his efforts to create jobs and attract investment to the state, and the win is expected to strengthen his mandate and help him push through key reforms and initiatives.

The Deputy Chief Minister's loss, on the other hand, is being seen as a sign of growing dissatisfaction with the ruling party and its policies. Varma has been a key member of the party and his defeat is likely to be a blow to its morale.

The counting of votes for the Assembly elections in Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura began at 8 am today. A total of 352 candidates contested 52 seats each in Meghalaya and Nagaland. 

Meanwhile, Tripura’s multi-cornered contest saw 259 candidates in the fray to fill 60 seats.

The general election for Tripura Assembly elections took place on February 16 last where 28,14,584 electorates comprising 14,15,233 male and 13,99,289 female voters have been destined to exercise their franchise. But 24,66,511 electorates comprising 12,18,764 male and 12,47,705 female voters have exercised their democratic right on the day of polling in 3,327 polling stations across the state.

In this election around 259 candidates from different political parties were in fray. Among them, 55 candidates nominated from BJP, 47 from Left Front including one independent candidate, 42 from TIPRA Motha party, 28 from TMC and 13 from Congress. Apart from that, parties like CPIML, TSP and RSP have candidates in one seat each. Seven candidates contested from unrecognized political parties.

There were a total of 3,337 polling stations in the state. Out of which there were 97 polling stations manned by women, 88 model polling stations, 33 polling stations manned by youth polling workers and 44 polling stations manned by persons with disabilities (PwDs).