The two high-profile bypolls in Uttar Pradesh may have been lost, but the BJP managed to score a heavy win in the Charilam Assembly seat on Thursday; voting for the seat was held up because of the death of the Left Front candidate earlier.
Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Debabarma won the seat, defeating his Left Front rival by around 25,550 votes. The CPI(M) candidate lost his deposit even as the Left Front had initially wanted to abstain from the Charilam election, alleging mass torture of its cadres.
A beaming Biplab Deb, chief minister of Tripura, told THE WEEK, “We are now having 36 seats. Now we will have to deliver. Most of the people have voted for us.”
The BJP tried to project this win as a consolation for the party leadership in Delhi, which seemingly went 'off-mood' after the drubbing in the UP and Bihar byelections.
Sunil Deodhar, BJP’s state in-charge in Tripura, said, “Don’t worry when election would come, we will do it again. BJP has not lost in India at all. It will come back to power again in 2019.”
The CPI(M) leadership was speechless about why it did not put up any fight against the BJP in Charilam. Though the party complained about mass torture, none of the CPI(M) leaders went to Election Commission and said Communist cadres or leaders could not enter the area.
“Of course, they should have taken this up with the EC. It’s the duty of the EC to give security to candidate and voters. But nothing of that sort has come as far as I know,” said Debabarma.
A victory procession hit the streets on Thursday soon after the win. This is the first time the CPI(M) has lost the seat in 25 years.
Meanwhile in his first cabinet meeting, Deb has already approved implementation of recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission for state government employees as promised by the BJP in its manifesto. The government is also sending proposals to New Delhi for approval of a medical college in Agartala. A survey has also been ordered for one big hospital in North Tripura and another in South Tripura.