Tripura BJP chief Rajib Bhattacharjee elected to Rajya Sabha

Agartala: BJP state chief Rajib Bhattacharjee on Tuesday was elected to the Rajya Sabha by-election by defeating CPI-M candidate and former MLA Sudhan Das.

Bhattacharjee, who secured 47 votes in the 60-member Tripura Assembly while Das got 10 votes.

The by-election to the lone Upper House seat was held on Tuesday and immediately after the polling, the votes were counted and the result was declared by the Election Commission officials.

The ruling BJP has 33 members in the assembly while its allies Tipra Motha Party (TMP) has 13 and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) has one legislator.

Opposition Congress, which has three MLAs, abstains from voting alleging “violence in the recent three-tier panchayat elections.”

The lone Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant after former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb quit the seat following his election to the Lok Sabha in the recent polls from the Tripura West parliamentary seat.

After his election, Bhattacharjee (53) expressing his gratitude to the Central leadership, said that he is also thankful to BJP allies TMP and IPFT.

“I am grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President J.P. Nadda, and Home Minister Amit Shah for giving me this opportunity to represent Tripura in Rajya Sabha. I would try my best for the all-round development of Tripura and welfare of all section people of the state,” the BJP President told the media.

Bhattacharjee was appointed Tripura state BJP President on August 25, 2022, replacing incumbent Chief Minister Manik Saha, who became the BJP’s state president in January 2020 and had been holding the party post even after assuming the office of the Chief Minister on May 15, 2022.

A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) loyalist for the last 36 years, Bhattacharjee had unsuccessfully contested last year's Assembly election from the Banamalipur constituency.