CPI (M) candidate Amitabha Dutta begins campaign for Dharmanagar by-election

Campaigning for the upcoming by-election in the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency of North Tripura district has begun, with CPI (M) candidate Amitabha Dutta starting door-to-door outreach. Dutta indicated that frustrated unemployed youth and women would be the key support base for the Left Front in the by-poll.

The by-election in the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency has become necessitated following the demise of the Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly, Biswa Bandhu Sen, which left the seat vacant. The Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule for the by-poll in the coming days. Even before the official announcement, the Left Front created a political stir by declaring its candidate for the seat in advance.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) has nominated former MLA, a member of the party’s state secretariat and North District secretary Amitabha Dutta as its candidate. Following the announcement of his candidature, Dutta started door-to-door campaigning from Wednesday along with several Left leaders from Dharmanagar.

While interacting with voters during the campaign, Dutta stated that since 2018 the state has witnessed what he described as a culture of political violence, and people are now preparing in their homes to protest against it. He appealed to voters across different booths to support a change in the current situation.

The CPI (M) candidate further said that the Left Front is seeking a decisive victory in the upcoming by-election to stop indiscriminate violence against women and to bring relief and hope to unemployed youth who are currently facing deep frustration.

It may be recalled that in the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress had fielded a candidate from this constituency, and the CPI(M) had supported the Congress nominee at that time. Earlier, Pradesh Congress President Ashish Kumar Saha had indicated that the Congress might field a candidate in the by-poll as well. However, stepping outside the earlier alliance equation, the CPI (M) has now decided to contest the by-election with its own candidate.

This development has sparked discussions in various political circles. Political observers believe the by-election results will reveal how much influence the CPI (M) can exert on voters under the present political circumstances.