Months before Assembly elections in Tripura, BJP on Saturday replaced Biplab Kumar Deb with Rajya Sabha member and veteran leader, Manik Saha as the Chief Minister.
Deb, who was credited for leading BJP to wrest power from the left and form its first government in the state in 2018, resigned on Saturday afternoon. The resignation came a day after his meeting with central leaders in New Delhi in which he was reportedly conveyed the party's decision to replace him with a new face for the Assembly elections next year. Deb met BJP president JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah, beside others in New Delhi on Friday.
"Being a Chief Minister, I worked for development and tried to provide justice to the people, who wanted a respite from the 25-year-long government of the left parties and march towards a new direction. I have worked in that direction. Now the party wants a responsible worker to further strengthen the organisation for 2023 elections. If the organisation remains strong, then the government will remain. To keep the party in power for a long time, organisation must be stregnthened," Deb told reporters at Agartala soon after tenderding his resignation to Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya.
Following Deb's resignation, BJP MLAs met at Agartala and elected Saha as the new CM. As Deb proposed 69-year-old Saha's name, Ram Prasad Paul, a minister protested. This followed a scuffle among a few MLAs. Paul broke a few chairs before he was calmed. Paul demanded deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma, to be made the new CM, sources said.
Saha is a reputed dental surgeon-turned politician, who joined BJP in 2016 after a brief stint in Congress. He was made the party's state president in 2020 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha in March this year. Saha belongs to a business family.
Saha will be administered the oath of office on Sunday morning.
Deb was elected as CM in March 2018 when BJP and its ally, Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) got majority in the 60-member Assembly and formed their first government. But several controversial sratements soon after becoming the CM invited a lot of criticim to Deb.
Some MLAs led by Sudip Roy Barman had even met the Central leaders twice demanding Deb's replacement. Barman and another MLA, Ashish Das quit and joined Congress in February this year. Another MLA joined Trinamool Congress, which has set its target to unseat BJP in 2023. Efforts to dislodge Biplab continued even after departure of the three MLAs, sources said.
Sources said that Deb was asked to quit following a "ground assessment" suggesting that BJP's position ahead of the elections was deteriorating under his tenure.
Emergence of TMC and Tripura Motha, a forum of regional political parties ahead of Assembly elections were the other reasons cited by BJP leaders in Agartala for replacement of Deb. Tripura Motha demands a seperate state for the indigenous Tripuris.