Manik Saha, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, was sworn in as Tripura’s Chief Minister for the second time on Wednesday. The swearing-in ceremony took place at Agartala’s Vivekananda Maidan. Aside from CM Manik Saha, eight other leaders were sworn in as ministers: RL Nath, Pranjit Singha Roy, Sushri Santana Chakma, Sushant Chowdhury, Tinku Roy, Bikash Debbarma, Sudhanshu Das, and Sukla Charan Noatia.
The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP President JP Nadda. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was present, as were Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, and Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang.
The event was also attended by BJP MLA Pratima Bhoumik, Rajya Sabha MP Biplab Deb, Tripura in-charge Sambit Patra, Mahesh Sharma, and Mahendra Singh. Manik Saha, a dental surgeon, left the Congress party in 2016 to join the BJP. He was appointed state party chief in 2020 and elected to the Rajya Sabha in March 2022.
Saha, who led the BJP to victory, was a BJP MP until last year’s change of guard. In 2022, Saha took over for Biplab Kumar Deb as the party’s leader in the Assembly elections in the northeast state.
Earlier on Monday, Chief Minister-designate Manik Saha urged Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya to stake his claim to form the state’s government.
On Monday, there was a general meeting of all newly elected BJP MLAs, who unanimously proposed Manik Saha as the legislature party’s leader.
“My sincere gratitude to all for electing me as the leader of the legislature party. Under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi ji, we shall work together to build ‘Unnata Tripura, Shrestha Tripura’ and ensure the welfare of all sections of people,” Saha tweeted after the meeting.
Manik Saha resigned on February 3 to Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya at Raj Bhavan in Agartala. The Governor asked him to stay until the new government took office. The BJP reclaimed power in the state with an absolute majority.
The BJP won 32 seats with a vote share of around 39%, according to the Election Commission of India. Tipra Motha Party finished second with 13 seats. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) received 11 seats, while the Congress received three.
The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) was successful in gaining one seat. The CPI(M) and the Congress, arch rivals in Kerala, joined forces in the Northeast this time to depose the BJP. CPI(M) and Congress’ combined vote share remained around 33%.
By a margin of 1,257 votes, incumbent Chief Minister Saha defeated Congress’ Asish Kumar Saha in the Town Bordowali seat. The majority mark in Tripura’s 60-member assembly is 31. The BJP, which had never won a single seat in Tripura prior to 2018, stormed to power in the last election in alliance with the IPFT, deposing the Left Front, which had ruled the border state for 35 years since 1978. The BJP ran for 55 seats, while IPFT ran for six. However, both allies ran candidates in the Gomati district’s Ampinagar constituency.
The left ran for 47 seats, while congress ran for 13. The CPM ran for 43 of the 47 available seats, while the Forward Bloc, Communist Party of India (CPI), and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) each ran for one. The CPI(M)-led Left Front ruled the state for nearly four decades, with a brief period when the congress was in power between 1988 and 1933, but now both parties have joined forces to depose the BJP.
