Manik takes oath as CM, says will work for growth
Priyanka Deb Barman
AGARTALA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Manik Saha was sworn in as chief minister of Tripura on Sunday, a day after Biplab Kumar Deb resigned from the post.
Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya administered the oath of office to Saha in a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan.
“The state has seen progress under Biplab Deb ji’s regime,” Saha said.
“We will continue to work for development of the state under the guidelines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Deb, the first BJP chief minister of Tripura, had taken charge in 2018 and was replaced by the party leadership on Saturday in a surprise move. Assembly polls are due in the state in 2023. After his resignation, Deb said he would focus on strengthening the party to ensure the BJP’S return to power.
A popular dentist, Saha joined the BJP in 2015 and was made chief of the party’ state unit in 2020. He became Tripura’s first Rajya Sabha MP from BJP this year.
During his initial days in the party, he was panna pramukh in-charge of urban areas and also booth management committee in-charge in the 2018 assembly polls.
Prior to BJP’S rule in Tripura, the state was under Manik Sarkar-led Left Front regime for two decades. Sarkar, the lone Politburo member of the Communist Praty of India (Marxist) from Tripura, became chief minister in 1998 and served in the position for four straight terms.
Sarkar started his political career as a student leader and was seen as the protege of former chief minister and communist patriarch in Tripura, late Nripen Chakraborty. He is currently the leader of opposition in the assembly, leading 15 opposition members, all of whom are from the CPI (M).