Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said the victory signals the end of the politics of appeasement.
The BJP on Friday romped home to victory in the twin bypolls in Tripura with huge margins, even as its rival CPI(M) cried foul and alleged large-scale rigging.
While the ruling party retained the Dhanpur seat with a margin of nearly 19,000 votes, it won the Muslim-majority Boxanagar seat by a massive 30,237 votes.
As the BJP won the Boxanagar seat for the first time, wresting it from the CPI(M), Chief Minister Manik Saha claimed that this victory signals the end of the politics of appeasement.
The BJP's Tafajjal Hossain won the Boxanagar seat, which has around 66% minority voters, by 30,237 votes. The BJP candidate got 34,146 votes, while his nearest rival Mizan Hossain of the CPI(M) got 3,909 votes.
In the Dhanpur seat, which has a significant tribal population, BJP candidate Bindu Debnath emerged victorious by a margin of 18,871 votes. Debnath got 30,017 votes, and his nearest CPI(M) rival Kaushik Chanda secured 11,146 votes.
While the state's main opposition party Tipra Motha and the Congress did not contest the polls, the CPI(M) alleged that large-scale rigging had taken place during the voting on September 5. The Left party also boycotted the counting of votes.
With these victories, the BJP's tally in the 60-member assembly increased to 33. Its ally IPFT has one MLA, while the opposition Tipra Motha has 13 members, CPI(M) has 10 and the Congress has three MLAs.
Extending gratitude to the people of the state, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the victories will further strengthen the determination to transform Tripura into a prosperous state under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi.
"It will further strengthen our determination to transform Tripura into a prosperous state under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji. Congratulations to the Tripura CM @DrManikSaha2 Ji and BJP President @Rajib4BJP Ji, along with the karyakartas, for this resounding victory," Mr Shah posted on X.
Mr Saha, who had extensively campaigned in Boxanagar, said that the BJP highlighted the politics of development and the people have reposed faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Our strategy has worked and we won the election in Boxanagar for the first time. The victory ended the appeasement of a particular community. The voters of Boxanagar have massively voted for the BJP candidate irrespective of caste and religion," he said.
BJP state president Rajiv Bhattacharjee said the party was sure about winning the by-elections because of the "double-engine" government's developmental works.
Tafajjal Hossain, who won the Boxanagar seat, asserted people voted in large numbers for the BJP to teach the CPI(M) a lesson.
"The CPI(M) knew it would lose the election. That's why it boycotted the counting," he said.
CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury blamed large-scale rigging by the BJP for the defeat in both seats, particularly Boxanagar.
"How does the CPI(M) which won the seat by 5,000 votes just six months ago, get a little over 3,000 votes now? The BJP under the leadership of Chief Minister Manik Saha has literally paralysed the administration and the police for two weeks to influence the voters, especially the minority community," he told reporters.
The main opposition Tipra Motha which neither contested the by-elections nor supported any other party, slammed the CPI(M) for failing to put up a fight.
In a Facebook post, Tipra Motha founder Pradyot Debbarma said that his party won the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) despite rigging in 2021. He also asserted that the Congress and Trinamool Congress nominees fought hard in past elections.
"Victory, fear and strength are in the mind. Complaining won't help. If you give up before the last ball is bowled, it will show how much you care for your workers and what has become a party which ruled Tripura for 25 years," he said.
Mr Debbarma met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 26 in New Delhi and discussed "the rights and welfare of the indigenous people" ahead of the bypolls. The Left party had held discussions with the Tipra Motha and sought its support for the by-elections, which the Congress was not contesting.
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