BJP Names Candidates for Bypolls in Nagaland and Tripura

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its candidates for the upcoming byelection scheduled for April 9 in Assembly constituencies across Nagaland and Tripura. This announcement, made on March 19, 2026, reveals a noticeable inclination towards dynastic representation within the party's nominations.

Daochier I. Imchen has been selected to contest for the Koridang seat in Nagaland, while Jahar Chakraborti will represent the party from the Dharmanagar constituency in Tripura. Both candidates were chosen following the deaths of the previous BJP representatives in these areas. Imkong L. Imchen, father of Daochier Imchen and a five-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), passed away in November 2025. Similarly, Biswa Bandhu Sen, representing Dharmanagar, died from a brain haemorrhage in December 2025.

Daochier Imchen, 36, is an MA graduate in Political Science who joined the BJP in 2023. He expressed gratitude towards the party leadership for their trust, stating, “I thank the party leadership for reposing faith in me and look forward to contesting the by-election with the support of our party workers.”

Jahar Chakraborti, who is the son-in-law of Rashik Goswami, has a long-standing relationship with the constituency, having previously contested elections in 2013 and represented the BJP in earlier elections. Goswami was among the initial candidates to represent the party in Tripura, although he faced defeats in his bids for the Dharmanagar seat in both 2003 and 2008. The BJP's resurgence in this constituency began when Biswa Bandhu Sen joined the party after a switch from the Indian National Congress via the Trinamool Congress ahead of the 2018 elections.

In addition to the candidates from Nagaland and Tripura, the BJP also named Ritesh Ravi Naik, Veerabhadrayya Charantimath, and Srinivas T. Dasakriyappa for byelections in the Ponda and Davanagere South constituencies in Goa and Karnataka, respectively. These selections reflect the party's strategic choices as it prepares for the upcoming elections while navigating the challenges posed by recent losses due to the passing of previous officeholders.