Manik Saha sworn-in as Tripura CM

A day after the incumbent Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb resigned from his post, Tripura BJP President Manik Saha was sworn-in as the 12th Chief Minister of the state on Sunday. 

Saha, 69, was elected as the BJP legislative party leader on Saturday following which he met Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya with a letter of support from the party MLAs and staked claim to form the government.

"We will move forward with the development issue of PM Modi and the BJP. We'll also enhance the law and order in the state along with resolving the issues of the people of Tripura. There's no political challenge for us," said Saha after taking oath as the new CM.

A year ahead of the Assembly polls in Tripura, the BJP reportedly effected the change of guard eyeing poticial gains. When asked about his resignation, Deb said, “These are party decisions. These happen. Let me work and win in 2023.”

Deb was appointed the chief minister after the BJP stormed to power in 2018, ending 25 years of Left Front rule.

A dental surgeon by profession, Saha was named president of the state BJP unit in 2020. He had joined the party in 2016, two years before it came to power in the state.

The election to the 60-member Tripura Assembly is due in January-February next year.