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March 20, 1998

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ELECTIONS '96

CPM man elected unopposed from Tripura RS seat

Former Tripura revenue and health minister Khagen Das, a member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist state secretariat, has been elected unopposed to the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Tripura.

Announcing this, returning officer and Tripura assembly secretary B K Goswami told newsmen in Agartala today that Das, candidate of the CPM-led Left Front, was the only one to file nomination papers.

Although the Congress-Tripura Upajati Juba Samity and Tripura National Volunteers alliance nominated Arun Chandra Bhowmik, a lawyer, he failed to file his nomination papers as he could not procure the approval letter in time from Congress president Sonia Gandhi allotting him the party symbol.

The six-year term of sitting Congress Rajya Sabha member Sudhir Ranjan Majumdar, a former chief minister, expires on April 2, and the election for the post was scheduled for March 27.

The ruling Left Front has a strength of 41 while the Congress-led alliance has 19 members, including an Independent MLA, in the 60-member House.

The CPI-M wrested the seat from the Congress. With this, the Left parties have won the seat four times and the Congress, only once since 1974. In the last five elections to the state's Rajya Sabha seat, CPI-M candidates have been elected unopposed, while in 1974 CPI candidate Birchandra Debbarma was declared elected by a toss of coin as Debbarma and his Congress rival Dhiresh Ranjan Nandy got 29 votes each.

UNI

Elections '98

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