Agartala, March 16, 2026: Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for by-elections to two Legislative Assembly constituencies in Northeast India, including one in Tripura and another in Nagaland.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday declared that polling for the 56-Dharmanagar Assembly constituency in Tripura and the 28-Koridang Assembly constituency in Nagaland, reserved for Scheduled Tribes, will be held on April 9. Counting of votes for both seats will take place on May 4.
The by-election in Dharmanagar became necessary following the death of Biswabandhu Sen, senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party and Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly. Sen passed away on December 26, 2025, at a private hospital in Bengaluru after prolonged medical treatment. He was 72.
Biswabandhu Sen had represented Dharmanagar four times in the Assembly. He was elected from the constituency as a candidate of Indian National Congress in 2008 and 2013, and later won twice on a BJP ticket in 2018 and 2023.
The opposition Left Front, led by Communist Party of India (Marxist), has already announced former MLA Amitabh Datta as its candidate for the by-election. The BJP and other political parties are yet to declare their nominees.
In Nagaland, the by-election to Koridang was necessitated by the death of veteran Naga leader Imkong L. Imchen, who passed away on November 11, 2024, at a private hospital in Guwahati following illness. He was 75.
Imchen was elected to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly five times. He first entered the Assembly as an independent candidate in 2003, later winning on Naga People’s Front tickets in 2008, 2013 and 2018, before securing victory as a BJP candidate in 2023.
