Tripura BJP chief to take oath as Rajya Sabha member on Tuesday

Agartala: The President of ruling BJP in Tripura, Rajib Bhattacharjee, will take oath as Rajya Sabha member on Tuesday.

Official sources said that Rajya Sabha Chairman Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar would administer the oath of office to Bhattacharjee, who was elected to the Upper House on September 3 after defeating CPI-M candidate and former MLA Sudhan Das in the by-election.

While Bhattacharjee secured 47 votes in the 60-member Tripura Assembly, Das got just 10 votes. The lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state fell vacant after former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb quit following his election to the Lok Sabha from the Tripura West parliamentary seat.

Bhattacharjee (53) was appointed Tripura BJP chief on August 25, 2022, replacing incumbent Chief Minister Manik Saha, who became the state President in January 2020 and was holding the party chief’s post even after assuming the office of the Chief Minister on May 15, 2022.

A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) loyalist for the past 36 years, Bhattacharjee had unsuccessfully contested last year’s Assembly elections from Banamalipur.

Two previous BJP Rajya Sabha members from Tripura – Manik Saha (2022) and Biplab Kumar Deb (2022-2024) – could not complete their six-year term as Upper House members. Saha quit his Rajya Sabha membership after becoming the Chief Minister in May 2022.   After his election to the Rajya Sabha on September 3, Bhattacharjee expressed his gratitude to BJP’s central leadership, saying that he is also thankful to BJP allies TMP and IPFT.

“I am grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President J.P. Nadda, and Home Minister Amit Shah for giving me this opportunity to represent Tripura in the Rajya Sabha. I would try my best for the all-round development of Tripura and welfare of all sections of people in the state,” Bhattacharjee said.

The ruling BJP has 33 members in the Assembly while its allies Tipra Motha Party (TMP) has 13 and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) has one legislator. The Congress, which has three MLAs, abstained from voting alleging “violence in the recent panchayat elections”.  

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