BJP candidates, including Chief Minister Manik Saha, were ahead in three seats, while the Congress was leading in one assembly constituency as votes were counted for the high-stakes by-elections in Tripura on Sunday morning, officials said. CM Saha was leading in the Town Bardowali seat by 4,363 votes after six rounds of counting. He has got 12,556, while his nearest rival Asish Kumar Saha of the Congress secured 8,193 votes, as per data provided by the Election Commission. In the Agartala seats, Congress candidate Sudip Roy Barma was leading by 3,202 votes after eight rounds of counting. He secured 17,241 votes, while Ashok Sinha of the BJP got 14,039 votes. The CPI(M) was trailing in its traditional bastion of Jubarajnagar to the BJP. After eight rounds of counting, BJP candidate Malina Debnath was leading by 4,320. She secured 18,381 votes, while her nearest candidate Shailendra Chandra Nath of the CPI(M) got 14,061 votes.
The BJP was leading in Surma as well with its candidate Swapna Das ahead by 1,806 votes after two rounds of counting. She got 4,457 votes, while CPI(M)’s Anjan Das secured 2,651 votes. The TMC, which was looking to make inroads in the Northeastern state, was performing dismally with its candidates at the distant fourth spot in all the seats. The counting for the by-elections, which were held on June 23, began at 8 am.
Source: Economic Times
