Biplab Kumar Deb quits, Manik Saha to be new Tripura Chief Minister

AGARTALA: The political scenario in Tripura underwent a sudden twist on Saturday with the Chief Minister, Biplab Kumar Deb, submitting his resignation to the Governor, SN Arya.

The State unit president of the BJP and MP, Manik Saha is set to be the new Chief Minister of Tripura as the BJP legislature party elected him as their leader in the presence of central observers shortly after Deb resigned.

Deb had become the Chief Minister in 2018 after the BJP swept to power for the first time in Tripura. Deb met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda in Delhi on Thursday for a confabulation on the party's affairs in the State and sources said that he tendered his resignation today as per Shah's instruction.

After tendering his resignation, Deb said: "The party is above all. I am a loyal worker, I hope I had done justice to the responsibility that was given to me – whether it was State president or Chief Minister. I have worked for the overall development of Tripura and ensure peace for the people of the State."

The newly chosen Chief Minister, Saha, is a dentist by profession and is associated with the Tripura cricket board. He quit the Congress in 2016 and joined the BJP.

According to the sources, Deb had to go because he failed to gain the goodwill of the tribal population of the State, which led to the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) quitting its alliance with the BJP.

On the other hand, royal scion Pradyut Kishore Manikya Debbarma's Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance is making inroads among the tribal population, including the IPFT, by propounding the demand for 'Greater Tripaland', the sources said.

The sources added that moreover, the BJP was also getting worried about the aggressive entry of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) into the State, which Deb was perceived as being unable to counter.

A recent survey carried out by the BJP central leadership found that the party stood to lose next year's Assembly elections in Tripura if Deb continued as the Chief Minister, the sources said, adding that he was consequently asked to quit. (Agencies)

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