Not an electoral but political fight: CPI(M) on Tripura’s Dharmanagar bypoll loss

After losing the Dharmanagar by-election in Tripura, CPI(M) state committee secretary Jitendra Chaudhury today claimed that the party did not view the by-election as merely an electoral contest, but as a political fight.

BJP candidate Jahar Chakraborti won the Dharmanagar by-election with 24,291 votes, while CPI(M) candidate Amitabh Datta received 6,001 votes. Congress candidate Chayan Bhattacharjee secured 5,936 votes.

Reacting to the results, Leader of the Opposition and CPI(M) state committee secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said that the party had not expected to win the Dharmanagar by-election. However, given the current political situation in the state, it was necessary to send a message to the people. That is why CPI(M) decided to contest alone, even though it had formed an alliance during the 2023 Assembly elections.

“However, the results are out, and in this regard, the way the BJP candidate has secured votes is unfortunate. Though he has won, if we look at the past eight years in Dharmanagar—which is the second-largest city in Tripura, known for its culture, as well as being the gateway and a major business hub of the state—the BJP has pushed the city towards decline. We had hoped that this would have an impact on the party,” he said.

He further claimed that if CPI(M) had contested the election in alliance with Congress, the results might have been different. 

“The numbers suggest that if we had contested together, the vote share would have increased, and there could have been a chance of victory,” he added.

“This is not just an electoral fight, but a political fight. We have seen this election as a political struggle,” he concluded.