Tripura: Manik Saha elected as BJP legislature party leader, set to become CM again

Following the BJP’s victory in the recently concluded Tripura Assembly elections, caretaker Chief Minister Manik Saha was elected as the legislative party’s leader on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, a general meeting of all newly elected BJP MLAs unanimously proposed the name Manik Saha as the legislature party’s leader.

Earlier on Monday, there was a general meeting of all the newly elected BJP MLAs who unanimously proposed the name of Manik Saha for the leader of the legislature party. “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,” tweeted Saha after the meeting.

Manik Saha resigned on Friday at Raj Bhavan in Agartala to Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya, who asked him to stay on until the new government is sworn in.
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.

Chief Minister Saha defeated Congress’ Asish Kumar Saha by 1,257 votes 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 in 55 seats, while its ally, IPFT, ran in six. However, both allies ran candidates in the Gomati district’s Ampinagar constituency.