Hardly eight months before state assembly elections, the BJP on Saturday, in a fast-paced development decided to replace Biplab Kumar Deb as Tripura Chief Minister.
State unit chief and newly elected Rajya Sabha member, Dr Manik Saha will be the new chief minister of the northeastern state where the saffron party had sprang a major surprise and captured power in 2018.
Congratulating Dr Saha on his election as new legislature party leader shortly after Biplab Deb resigned, Union Minister and BJP central observer Bhupender Yadav said under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tripura will achieve new milestones in developments under Manik Saha.
Earlier in the day, the election mood set in the state of Tripura as BJP’s ‘first Chief Minister’ in the erstwhile Tripura CM, Biplab Deb, tendered his resignation earlier today.
Polls are due early next year in three northeastern states of Nagaland and Meghalaya besides Tripura. Deb was state unit chief when the BJP had won the 2018 polls ousting the Manik Sarkar-led Communists regime.
On Saturday, May 14, Biplab Deb submitted his resignation to Governor S N Arya.
“Party wants me to work to strengthen the organisation,” he said.
There were demands for replacing Deb last year as well.
In Tripura, BJP’s ally for 2018 was Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), which had won 8 of the mainly tribal seats. It had contested only 9 seats. The Lotus party had contested the remaining 51 seats and had managed to win 36.
Biplab Deb who visited party president JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah for the last two days returned to Agartala on Saturday.
Although political detractors including Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, which entered into the state last year, now claim standing vindicated following Deb’s resignation; it is also true they realise the BJP has in the other states managed to beat ‘anti incumbency’ by replacing Chief Ministers. Uttarakhand was a classic illustration.
