TRIPURA DEPUTY CM JISHNU DEV VARMA WINS CHARILAM SEAT

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma won the Charilam assembly seat in Tripura. He is also the state BJP vice-president. The deputy chief minister, a member of Tripura's royal family, was sworn in by Governor Tathagata Roy on March 9, along with Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and others. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present on the occasion. Dev Varma was pitted against Arjun Debbarma of the Congress, Uma Shankar Debbarma of the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) and Independent contestant Jyotilal Debbarma. After the death of Ramendra Narayan Debbarma on February 11, the CPI(M) had fielded Palash Debbarma from the seat. However, on Friday, the party withdrew his candidature alleging large-scale post-poll violence in the constituency. The election of 59 seats for the 60 member Assembly was held on February 18. The BJP and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) combine swept to power in the state winning 43 out of the 59 seats for which elections were held.