Saffron BJP Set to Form Government in Tripura
BJP Tripura state president Biplab Kumar Deb (left) greets outgoing Chief Minister Manik Sarkar at the CPI(M) head office in Agartala on Sunday.Pic: Ritu Raj Konwar
AGARTALA Outgoing chief minister Manik Sarkar submitted his resignation today after completing four terms in office. Governor Tathagata Roy walked up to his car to see him off in a good will gesture.
As per reports coming from Agartala, the BJP is likely to form its government by March 8. Senior party leaders Nitin Gandkari and Jual Oram have been appointed as election prabharis to decide the party’s chief ministerial candidate which will thereafter be
forwarded to its parliamentary committee. As per sources, while state BJP president Biplab Kumar Deb is the front runner for the post, “there is also the possibility of having a tribal chief minister in the state”.
Biplab Kumar Deb, frontrunner for Chief Minister, said the swearing-in would be on March 8, two days after party heavyweights converge to elect the legislature party leader. “(Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin) Gadkariji is scheduled to arrive here on March 6 for electing the legislature party leader. The swearing-in would be done a couple of days later,” he told the media.
BJP leaders said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had during the campaign hoped to witness Tripura turning saffron from red, is expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony.
The BJP won 35 of the 59 seats where elections were held on February 18. Its ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Twipra (IPFT) won eight seats taking the tally to 43. The CPI(M), which had won 49 seats in 2013, had to be satisfied with 16.
Manik Sarkar, who reigned as the Chief Minister for 20 of the Left Front’s 25 years in power in Tripura since 1993, met Governor Tathagata Roy in the afternoon to tender his resignation. The Governor accepted Mr. Sarkar’s resignation, but asked him to hold charge until the formal transfer of power.
CPI(M) leaders said Mr. Sarkar would have met the Governor on March 3 after it became clear that Tripura had taken a right turn to vote the leftists out. “But the CM returned late from Sonamura because of formalities after retaining the Dhanpur seat,” a party leader said.Sonamura, a sub-divisional headquarters, is about 55 km south of Agartala.
“The cooperation from the people and administration helped us run the government for 20 years. The people were with us, and we were with the people. Without their cooperation, it would have been impossible to implement government policies. I cannot thank them enough,” Mr. Sarkar said after meeting the governor.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar pays tributes to Fisheries Minister Khagandra Jamatiya at the CPI (M) head office in Agartala on March 4, 2018. Jamatiya died in New Delhi on March 2. | Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar
Before heading for Raj Bhavan in Agartala, Mr. Sarkar visited the State CPI(M) headquarters to pay homage to Fisheries Minister and six-time MLA Khangendra Jamatia, who died of cancer at AIIMS in New Delhi on March 2. His body was brought to Agartala today.
Advise for BJP workers
Mr. Deb also paid homage to Jamatia at the CPI(M) office, where he met Mr. Sarkar and sought his blessings for handling the responsibility of steering an alliance government.
Mr. Deb declined to say if he would be the BJP’s candidate for Chief Minister. “This is for the leadership to decide. The party made me State president, and my job is to ensure we honour the people’s mandate to the best of our capability,” he said.(With Agency Inputs).
