Manik Saha takes oath as Tripura Chief Minister, 8 other ministers sworn-in

Dr Manik Saha was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Tripura for the second consecutive term today along with a team of eight other ministers in his cabinet in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in Agartala.

The ceremony was also attended by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khanda, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Sikkim Chief Minister PS Tamang. Former Tripura CM Biplab Deb, who was replaced by Saha mid-term last year, also shared the stage with the BJP bigwigs.

Eight other ministers were also sworn-in today. Four ministers from the previous Saha-led government— Ratan Lal Nath, Pranajit Singha Roy, Shantana Chakma and Sushanta Chowdhury—have retained their position while three new ministers—Biplab Deb-confidante, Tinku Roy, BJP Scheduled Tribes Morcha chief Bikash Debbarma Morcha, and Sudhanshu Das also took oath along with the saffron party’s ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), who scored a single seat in the polls, received one ministerial berth in the ranks.

IPFT’s Sukla Charan Noatia took oath as minister.

Reports quoting sources said that the BJP has kept aside three ministerial berths for Tipra Motha, who secured 13 seats in the February 16 election. Earlier, talks between the BJP and Tipra Motha, led by former royal Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, broke down over the tribal party’s demand for a ‘Greater Tipraland’.

As per reports, Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik will hold on to her parliamentary seat and vacate the Dhanpur Assembly seat she won in this election.

The opposition CPM and the Congress decided to boycott the swearing-in ceremony to protest against post-poll violence in the northeastern state.

Saha replaced Biplab Kumar Deb in 2022 to steer the BJP to victory in this year’s assembly polls in what was seen as a multi-cornered contest in the northeast state.

Manik Saha on Monday called on Tripura Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya to stake claim to form the government. Earlier, at a general meeting of all newly-elected BJP MLAs, Saha was unanimously chosen as the leader of the legislature party.

The doctor-turned politician expressed his gratitude after the decision in the meeting. In a tweet, Saha said: ‘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.”

BJP ran roughshod over the opposition in the northeast state by securing an absolute majority in the assembly elections. The saffron party won 32 seats in the 60-member house and registered a vote share of around 39 percent, as per the Election Commission.

BJP ally IPFT (Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura) managed to secure a single seat. Communist Party of India (Marxist) got 11 seats while Congress bagged three.