Tripura CM Manik Saha wins crucial by-election from Town Bardowali seat

The Chief Minister, a BJP candidate, secured 17,181 votes winning the Town Bardowali seat

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha won the by-election from the Town Bardowali seat by a margin of 6,104 on Sunday, as per the Election Commission.

The Chief Minister, a BJP candidate, secured 17,181 votes, which is 51.63% of the total votes polled.

His nearest rival Ashish Kumar Saha of the Congress bagged 11,077 votes or 33.29% of the total votes.

The Left Front was at the third spot as Forward Bloc candidate Raghunath Sarkar secured 3,376 votes (10.15%).

"The people who voted for me, I thank them. This is the victory of BJP workers. I expected the margin to be a bit more. However, the results prove the understanding between the CPI(M) and Congress. We will work accordingly in the future, but people did not take this understanding in a good way," the Chief Minister told reporters.

"We have seen post-poll violence for many years, so we have urged the people to stay away from such a thing. People's trust is the main factor, and we have to see they don't face any problems. I would also request the opposition parties to maintain peace," he added.

Manik Saha, a Rajya Sabha MP, was appointed the Chief Minister of the State last month after then CM Biplab Deb's sudden resignation. He had to win this by-election to continue as the Chief Minister.