Tripura: BJP fields Agartala mayor Dipak Majumder for Ramanagar by-polls

Agartala: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday announced Agartala Mayor Dipak Majumder as its candidate for the Ramnagar assembly constituency by-election.

The seat fell vacant after sitting MLA Surajit Dutta passed away in December last year following a prolonged illness.

BJP national general secretary Arun Singh made the announcement from Delhi. Majumder will contest against the opposition INDIA bloc-backed Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) candidate and former legislator Ratan Das.

Majumder, 64, was a former Congress leader till he shifted to the BJP before the 2018 assembly election. He earlier contested the 2013 assembly elections from Khowai constituency but was defeated.

Speaking to reporters after his nomination, Majumder said he is hopeful to get support from everyone including his party supporters and those supporting opposition parties.

“I have served for the Agartala municipality earlier. I am confident of victory. I will reach out to people from both our party as well as those in parties against us,” he said. He added that if elected, he would work for the welfare of the people of Ramnagar.

Chief Minister Manik Saha congratulated Majumder for his nomination as the party candidate.

“I congratulated Mayor Dipak Majumder for his nomination as the BJP candidate for Ramanagar assembly seat. To support Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I appeal to the electors of the assembly constituency to cast their votes for him on April 19,” Saha wrote on his Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Das on Friday submitted his nomination before the Sadar additional sub-divisional magistrate, accompanied by a huge rally of supporters from INDIA alliance partners, including the Congress, Communist Party of India, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Forward Bloc and a few others.

CPIM leader and INDIA bloc Tripura co-convener Jitendra Chaudhary appealed to electors to stand in support of the opposition unity saying, “This election is not a mere fight for going to power with a manifesto or with some programmes. This election is about saving the country, it’s Constitution and independence”.

Speaking on a similar line, Tripura Congress president and INDIA bloc candidate for West Tripura Parliamentary constituency Ashish Kumar Saha said all INDIA alliance partner parties have come together against the “fascist” rule of the BJP.

(with PTI inputs)