BJP fields RSS loyalist in Tripura bypoll, names late MLA son for Nagaland seat

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced its candidates for the April 9 by-elections to two Assembly constituencies in the Northeastern states of Tripura and Nagaland.

According to a notification issued by election authorities in both states, the filing of nominations began on March 16, while the last date for submission is March 23. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on March 24, and the final date for withdrawal of candidatures is March 26. Results will be declared on May 4.

As per a press statement issued by BJP General Secretary Arun Singh, Jahar Chakraborti will contest from the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency in North Tripura district, while Daochier I. Imchen will make his electoral debut from the Koridang Assembly constituency in Mokokchung district of Nagaland.

Singh stated that the BJP’s Central Election Committee, in a meeting chaired by party President Nitin Nabin on Wednesday, finalised candidates for by-elections in four states -- Tripura, Nagaland, Goa and Karnataka. The meeting, held at the party headquarters in New Delhi, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other members of the election committee.

In Tripura, 59-year-old Jahar Chakraborti, the BJP’s North Tripura district Vice President, will contest from Dharmanagar Assembly constituency for the second time. In 2013, Chakraborti, known as a staunch Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist, contested from the same seat but lost to then Congress candidate Biswa Bandhu Sen.

Chakraborti’s wife, Barnali Goswami, previously served as Chairperson of the Tripura State Commission for Women. He will now face CPI (M)-led Left Front candidate and former MLA Amitabha Datta.

The bypoll in Dharmanagar Assembly constituency became necessary following the death of Biswa Bandhu Sen, who was serving as Speaker of the Tripura Assembly.

Sen, 72, passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on December 26, 2025, after prolonged medical treatment. He was elected to the Assembly four times -- twice as a Congress candidate in 2008 and 2013, and later in 2018 and 2023 as a BJP nominee from the same constituency. A total of 46,143 voters, including 23,763 women, are eligible to cast their votes in the Dharmanagar Assembly bypoll.

In Nagaland, Daochier I. Imchen will contest from the Koridang Assembly constituency, a seat long represented by his father, veteran Naga leader Imkong L. Imchen, for over 25 years.

The by-election in Koridang was necessitated by the death of Imkong L. Imchen, who passed away at a private hospital in Guwahati on November 11, 2024, after a brief illness. He was 75. Imchen was elected to the Nagaland Assembly five times from the Koridang constituency -- first as an Independent in 2003, then on Naga People's Front tickets in 2008, 2013 and 2018, before winning on a BJP ticket in 2023.

A total of 22,390 voters, including 11,013 women, are eligible to vote in the Koridang Assembly constituency.