Trouble in Dharma Nagar : craze for cut money and negotiation deal destroying BJP organization , MLA becomes a target

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, September 24, 2026

Growing factionalism and craze among BJP workers, a section of local leaders and their supporters for easy money by whatever means have been striking at the very root of the BJP’s organization in Dharma Nagar, headquarter of north Tripura district. This factionalism and widening schism within the BJP’s organizational set-up had come to the fore in an ugly manner on last Tuesday, that is on September 22 , when Barnali Goswami, the former chairperson of state womens commission and wife of Dharma Nagar MLA Jawhar Chakraborty , had been practically driven away from the Dharma Nagar college premise by irate ABVP supporters and workers. Barnali had gone there to attend a programme but as soon as she had landed a large group of students affiliated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) raised ‘go back’ slogans against her to prevent her from entering the college . As a result Barnali had to beat a hasty retreat. The students plea was that the Dharma Nagar college is plagued by serious problems but there is no attempt on the part of the state government to resolve the problem .

But sources from within BJP in Dharma Nagar said that the ABVP students had actually been used to vent the ire of the cut money earners and negotiation extortionists who have lost their flourishing money-spinning business after the death of former MLA and speaker Bishwabandhu Sen and election of Jawhar Chakraborty as MLA in his place. “As long as Bishwbandhu was alive the cut money and negotiation mafia had a golden time ; all tendered contract works of PWD, RD , Water Resource department, TSECL and ,minor irrigation department used to be controlled by Bishwabandhu and the mafia elements under him used to get their share of the loot after Bishwabandhu kept his cut ; but now they are in difficulty” said a senior BJP leader.

Explaining the nature of the problem he said that after being elected as MLA Jawhar Chakraborty who is known to be a gentle, honest man of integrity held a meeting with bona fide contractors, deprived of work or squeezed by the cut money mafia, and assured them that there will no undue interference or coercion in the tender process. This put the cut money and negotiation mafia controlling the party under late Bishwabandhu’s patronage in a spot. Their main demand now is that Jawhar Chakraborty , through nominated and elected as BJP candidate from Dharma Nagar this time, should be denied renomination. “The mafia elements ,patronized by Bishwabandhu, who had beaten up Jawhar’s wife Barnali Goswami in her home before the last assembly election are now active to get rid of Jawhar Charkraborty because he does not allow them a free run, as earlier, in activities as cut money and negotiation mafia ; it is these elements who egged on the ABVP to drive away Barnali Goswami from college on last Tuesday” said sources. The problem is likely to worsen in the coming days because there is apparently no body to rein in the mafia elements of BJP in Dharma Nagar and the party leadership at Agartala is either incapable or unwilling to intervene in the matter.

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