Chief Minister Manik Saha Wins Seat As aBJP Retains Tripur

Manik Saha, who is expected to win a second term as chief minister of Tripura, defeated Congress senior politician Ashish Kumar Saha in the Town Bardowali constituency on Thursday by a margin of 1,257 votes, despite predictions from inside his own party that he would have a "difficult time" there. The 69-year-old dental surgeon-turned-path politician's from joining the BJP in 2016 to being appointed Chief Minister last year during a brand renewal drive has been brief but successful. When the BJP's ideological leader, the RSS, learned that the previous Chief Minister, Biplab Deb, had alienated many of the saffron party's followers with his impulsive acts and bad law-and-order record, the party bigwigs made a decision to replace him over numerous other prospective challengers, including Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik, a quiet and modest politician. The guy the BJP has dubbed "Mr Clean" assumed control of the Tripura BJP branch in 2020 and later served for a brief period from April 3 to July 4 of last year as a Rajya Sabha member. The previous six or seven years have been a dream for the rookie politician, who was formerly a supporter of Congress.In a by-election held in 2022, Mr. Saha, an expert in oral and maxillofacial surgery, won the Town Bardowali seat, which is outside the state capital of Agartala. Saha had worked as a professor at the Tripura Medical College in Hapania before entering politics.

After succeeding Deb as Chief Minister of the northeastern state, he served for barely 10 months, but he was able to improve the state government's reputation in time for the February 16 assembly elections. Early in the 1970s, the "gentleman politician" attended school in Tripura before pursuing higher studies in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. After spending a lot of time at Tripura Medical College, Mr. Saha reported on Twitter in January how he performed surgery on a 10-year-old kid. Many users complimented him and called it "really encouraging" that he was still carrying out his doctoral tasks. Several ministers, MLAs, and senior leaders in the Tripura branch of the BJP expressed their displeasure with Mr. Saha's nomination as chief minister, and the debate never truly subsided in party circles.Mr. Saha claimed to have been able to win the public's trust in a few of months during an interview with PTI in February. "Everywhere I go, I see joyful individuals who have benefited from PMAY, including those who have access to piped water to restrooms through multiple flagship programmes. Nonetheless, I do think that more has to be done in the area of employment generation. In the last five years, all forms of crime—murder, rape, and kidnapping—have significantly decreased, improving the general situation of law and order.

He had stated that the NCRB findings "endorse our view on the law-and-order situation" and called the opposition's claims of massive violence in rural regions "baseless". "Modiji and the party will make the decision. I'll be chosen if they decide that I'm the right candidate. I always favour using a straight bat ". Regarding unfulfilled commitments, Mr. Saha stated he would raise the issue of the High Power Modality Committee, which was established as part of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) negotiated by the BJP and IPFT prior to the Delhi Assembly election in 2018 to examine the socio-economic-linguistic development of the state's indigenous people. A powerful modalities committee has been established by the Union Home Ministry, but the panel's suggestions have not yet been made public.