Agartala: Opposition Panel under the banner of Save Constitution Forum bagged majority in Tripura Bar Association Polls held on Sunday.
Altogether ten candidates of the panel emerged victorious while the Ainjeebi Unnayan Mancha candidates backed by the ruling BJP won five seats in the 15-member executive committee of the Bar.
Senior advocates Mrinal Kanti Biswas and Kaushik Indu were elected as president and secretary respectively.
Biswas defeated his rival Arabinda Deb by a margin of 54 votes while independent candidate Soumen Saha bagged a total of 13 votes.
On the other hand, Rana Gopal Chakraborty bit the dust against Kaushik Indu who got 228 votes. A total of 149 voters cast their mandate for Chakraborty.
In other key positions, Dr. Pankaj Banik was elected as the Vice President from Ainjeebi Unnayan Mancha defeating his challenger Subhasis De with a narrow margin of 13 votes.
Among two posts of Assistant Secretary, both the panels get one post in the face of Amar Debbarma and Utpal Das.
The Ainjeebi Unnayan Mancha got five seats in total that consists of three executive committee members and two office bearers.
The Save Constitution Forum got a total of 10 seats comprising President, Secretary, an Assistant Secretary and seven executive members. The total number of valid electorates stood at 416.
Speaking after the poll results, President Mrinal Kanti Biswas said, “We have worked hard to stand solid beside the members of the Bar and since we have been elected again it means members of the Bar have reposed their hope on us and we shall work hard for the rights of lawyers.”