Agartala, Mar 19: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has officially announced Jahar Chakraborty as its nominee for the upcoming by-election in the 56-Dharmanagar Assembly constituency of North Tripura district.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the party’s central election committee held in New Delhi, led by BJP national president Nitin Nabin. 

The high-level meeting was attended by top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Home Minister Amit Shah, among others.

Following the announcement, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha extended his congratulations to Chakraborty, expressing confidence in his candidature.

On the opposition front, the Left Front has nominated Amitabh Dutta as its candidate for the same seat, setting the stage for a direct contest.

According to the election schedule, polling will be conducted on April 9. The nomination process will conclude on March 23, followed by scrutiny on March 24. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is March 26, while vote counting is slated for May 4.

Election officials informed that the Dharmanagar constituency has a total electorate of 46,143 voters, including 23,763 women and 22,380 men.

To facilitate smooth polling, 55 polling stations have been established across the constituency—32 in urban areas and 23 in rural pockets. Additionally, 12 sector officers have been deployed, with four kept on standby for contingency management.