Agartala: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained Tripura’s lone Rajya Sabha seat on Tuesday as BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee was elected to the upper house of Parliament.
Bhattacharjee secured 47 out of 57 valid votes cast. Lawmakers from the BJP, Tipra Motha Party, and IPFT, which form the ruling coalition, voted in favor of Bhattacharjee.
He succeeds former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who previously held the Rajya Sabha seat after stepping down from the top post. In 2024, Deb was fielded as a candidate for the Lok Sabha from the West Tripura parliamentary constituency, leaving the Rajya Sabha seat vacant again. Before this, incumbent Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha also briefly served in the position.
Expressing his gratitude, Bhattacharjee said, “I extend my sincere thanks to PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the BJP National Chief for selecting an ordinary worker like me for this position. I will leave no stone unturned in contributing to the development and progress of Tripura.”
While the ruling coalition secured a decisive victory, the opposition parties appeared further weakened due to a lack of coordination. The Congress party, a major constituent of the INDIA bloc in Tripura, boycotted the polls. Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman expressed sharp disappointment with the CPIM, stating that the Congress party was not consulted before the CPIM unilaterally announced their candidate.
“The CPIM made the decision without consulting us and expected us to vote for their candidate,” Barman added. The Congress party has three MLAs in the 60-member house, and only 57 legislators participated in the polling. All ten CPIM MLAs voted for their candidate, veteran SC leader Sudhan Das.
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Commenting on Congress’s non-cooperation, a senior CPIM leader said, “We expected the Congress MLAs to cast their votes. However, they belong to a different party and have the right to make independent decisions.”
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