In a sudden move, BJP leadership has selected Rajya Sabha MP and BJP state president Dr. Manik Saha as the new Chief Minister of Tripura, replacing Biplab Kumar Deb.
Just ahead of elections next year, Biplab Deb on Saturday submitted his resignation to the Governor. The developments came a day after he met Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief JP Nadda in New Delhi.
Senior BJP leaders Bhupender Yadav and Vinod Tawde, who had been appointed as observers for the election of the legislature party leader, reached Tripura, soon after his resignation. Immediately, the legislature party `elected’ Dr Manik Saha as it’s leader.
A leading dental surgeon, Saha was named chief of the state BJP in 2020. He had joined the party in 2016, two years before it came to power in the state. Earlier, Deb, the first BJP chief minister of the state, announced his resignation after meeting Governor S.N. Arya at Raj Bhavan.
“Party is above all. I am a loyal worker of the BJP. I hope I have done justice to the responsibilities that were given to me — whether it was BJP state president or Tripura chief minister. I have worked for the overall development of Tripura, and to ensure peace for the people of the state,” he told reporters.
According to reports, the BJP wanted to go with a fresh face in the Assembly polls and Deb would be engaged in organisational work. Sources said the Central leadership was “unhappy” with his “style of functioning” and “concluded” that the party could not go to Assembly elections under him.
“We do not have one full year left to face the elections and it is almost the deadline to make changes in the government. There were different charges… The party had to step in,” a party source said.
Party leaders pointed to the BJP’s experience in Uttarakhand where the Chief Minister was changed a few months before the Assembly elections earlier this year — a clean image and Modi’s popularity ensured the party’s return to power. “In Tripura also, the BJP can highlight Central schemes and Modi’s popularity in the elections,” a leader said.
