Agartala/Kohima: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday announced its candidates for the April 9 by-elections to two Assembly constituencies in Tripura and Nagaland — Dharmanagar and Koridang respectively.
Both bypolls were necessitated by the deaths of sitting legislators, and the BJP's picks carry distinct local significance in each constituency.
Also Read: EC announces bypolls for Tripura’s Dharmanagar and Nagaland’s Koridang seats on April 9
According to official notifications issued by election authorities in both states, the key dates for the bypolls are as follows:
Nomination filing began: March 16
Last date for nominations: March 23
Scrutiny of nominations: March 24
Last date for withdrawal: March 26
Result declaration: May 4
BJP General Secretary Arun Singh announced the candidates in a press statement, saying the party's Central Election Committee finalised nominees for by-elections in four states — Tripura, Nagaland, Goa, and Karnataka — at a meeting chaired by party President Nitin Nabin on Wednesday.
The meeting, held at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other members of the election committee.
In Tripura's Dharmanagar Assembly constituency in North Tripura district, the BJP has fielded Jahar Chakraborti, 59, the party's district Vice President.
Chakraborti is no stranger to this seat — he contested from Dharmanagar in 2013 but lost to the then-Congress candidate Biswa Bandhu Sen. Known as a committed RSS activist, he now gets a second shot at the constituency.
His wife, Barnali Goswami, previously served as Chairperson of the Tripura State Commission for Women.
Chakraborti will face CPI(M)-led Left Front candidate and former MLA Amitabha Datta in what is shaping up to be a direct contest.
The bypoll became necessary after the death of Biswa Bandhu Sen, who had been serving as Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly. Sen passed away on December 26, 2025, at a private hospital in Bengaluru at the age of 72, following prolonged medical treatment.
Sen had won from Dharmanagar four times — in 2008 and 2013 on a Congress ticket, and in 2018 and 2023 as a BJP nominee.
A total of 46,143 voters, including 23,763 women, are registered in the Dharmanagar constituency.
In Nagaland, the BJP has named Daochier I. Imchen as its candidate for the Koridang Assembly constituency in Mokokchung district — a seat his father, veteran Naga politician Imkong L. Imchen, held for over 25 years.
This will be Daochier's electoral debut.
The by-election was triggered by the death of Imkong L. Imchen, who passed away at a private hospital in Guwahati on November 11, 2024, at the age of 75 after a brief illness.
The elder Imchen had won from Koridang five times — first as an Independent in 2003, then on Naga People's Front tickets in 2008, 2013, and 2018, before switching to the BJP and winning again in 2023.
A total of 22,390 voters, including 11,013 women, are eligible to vote in the Koridang constituency.