‘Family first’ in BJP list of bypoll candidates in Nagaland, Tripura

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has displayed a dynastic streak in fielding candidates for the April 9 by-elections to Assembly constituencies in Nagaland and Tripura.

On Thursday, March 19, 2026, the BJP fielded Daochier I. Imchen from Koridang seat in Nagaland and Jahar Chakraborti from Dharmanagar constituency in Tripura as candidates.

The deaths of BJP representatives from these two constituencies (Imkong L. Imchen and Biswa Bandhu Sen) necessitated by-elections to Koridang and Dharmanagar respectively.

Daochier Imchen is the son of five-time MLA Imkong Imchen, who passed away in November 2025. Mr. Chakraborti is the son-in-law of Rashik Goswami, who was among the first BJP candidates to contest elections in Tripura.

Mr. Goswami contested and lost the Dharmanagar seat in the 2003 and 2008 elections, and so did Mr. Chakraborti in 2013. Both were defeated by Sen, who switched from Congress to BJP via the Trinamool Congress before the 2018 elections and continued his winning streak into 2023.

Şen, a retired teacher, died of a brain hemorrhage in December 2025.

Daochier Imchen, 36, who has a master’s degree in Political Science, joined the BJP in 2023. “I thank the party leadership for their trust in me and I look forward to participating in the by-election with the support of our party workers,” he said.

Besides Koridang and Dharmanagar, the BJP has announced the names of Ritesh Ravi Naik, Veerabhadrayya Charantimath and Srinivas T. Dasakriyappa for the by-elections to Ponda (Goa), Bagalkot (Karnataka) and Davanagere South (Karnataka) seats respectively.