Agartala: Tripura’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the three-tier panchayat by-elections, bagging 113 out of the 130 gram panchayat seats that went to polls, even as CPI -M described the entire exercise as highly undemocratic.
BJP’s ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), came second, winning nine gram panchayat seats, Tripura State Election Commission (TSEC) officials said. Both the CPI-M and the Congress won four seats each. While the BJP won five panchayat samiti seats, the CPI-M managed to get only two seats.
The by-elections to 3,386 seats – 3,207 gram panchayat seats, 161 panchayat samiti seats and 18 zilla parishad seats – were scheduled for September 30, but polling was held in only 130 gram panchayat and seven panchayat samiti seats in 11 blocks. BJP candidates had already won over 96% of the seats uncontested.
The by-polls had become necessary after a large number of representatives resigned following the BJP-IPFT government assuming power in the state earlier in March this year.
Re-polling would be held on October 5 in two gram panchayat seats in Khowai Rural Development Block of Khowai district, 60 km from Agartala, the State Election Commissioner said. Results for the re-polled seats would be announced on October 7.
BJP leaders, including state spokesperson Ashok Sinha, welcomed the by-poll results and thanked the people of the state for choosing the party over the CPI-M, which had ruled the state for 25 years.
