For Dhanpur, Boxanagar assembly by-polls to be held on Sep 5

Agartala: The by-election to two Tripura Assembly constituencies – Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura’s Sepahijala district will be held on September 5, a poll official said here on Tuesday.

The Dhanpur seat fell vacant after the resignation of Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik and the death of CPI(M)’s Boxanagar lawmaker Samsul Haque in July this year, he said.

The state additional chief electoral officer U G Mog said the notification for the by-poll will be issued on August 10 and the last date for filing nomination is August 17.

The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be held on August 18 and the last date for withdrawal is August 21. Counting is scheduled to take place on September 8.

The two seats in Tripura where the by-poll will be held are among the seven in the country where the election will be held on the day, he said.

In the 60-member House BJP now has 31 MLAs while its ally – the Indigenous People Front of Tripura (IPFT) has one lawmaker. Tipra Motha won 13 seats in the last Assembly election held in February, while the Congress won three seats. CPI(M)’s tally has been reduced to 10 after Haque’s death.