Manik Saha, a dental surgeon, is Tripura’s new chief minister

Manik Saha, the state president of Tripura BJP took oath as the new chief minister of the state at the Raj Bhawan in Agartala on Sunday (May 15).

Saha was sworn in to the post by Governor SN Arya, a day after Biplab Kumar Deb resigned as the chief minister.

Deb was present at the ceremony along with BJP MLAs and state ministers. Union minister Pratima Bhowmick also attended the swearing-in programme.

Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma and minister Ram Prasad Paul, who broke chairs during the BJP’s legislative party meeting on Saturday protesting Sahas appointment as the chief minister, arrived at the Raj Bhavan moments after the swearing-in ceremony ended.

The opposition CPI(M) MLAs boycotted the programme, alleging “fascist-style violence” in the state under the BJP’s rule.

A dental surgeon by profession, Saha, 69, is a Rajya Sabha MP. He left the Congress to join the BJP in 2016.

A bachelor’s degree holder from Patna’s Government Dental College, Saha did his master’s degree from Lucknow’s King Georges’ Medical College. In 2020, he was appointed as the Tripura BJP chief and a year later, nominated as the BJP candidate from the state to Rajya Sabha in 2021.

On Saturday, Saha was made the leader of the BJP legislature party, hours after Deb announced his surprise resignation.

BJP’s pick of Deb’s successor was surprising for many in the party who had expected Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Verma as a likely candidate for the job.

Saha is expected to steer the party to success in the assembly elections next year, especially when the BJP is likely to see a strong contender in Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.