Amit Shah announces Manik Saha as BJP's CM candidate in Tripura poll

Agartala: Ending all speculation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that Manik Saha would be the BJP’s Chief Ministerial face in the upcoming Tripura assembly election.

Addressing a public rally in South Tripura’s Sabroom, Shah made it clear that Dr Saha would be the next Chief Minister if the BJP was voted back to power “Give five years to Manik Bhai’s leadership; the double-engine government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make Tripura the most prosperous state among the small states".

The remark made on Thursday immediately caught the attention of the people of Tripura and the party rank and file.

Former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb, Union Minister of the state for empowerment and social justice Pratima Bhowmik, and BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee were said to be in the race for being the party's Chief Ministerial face.

Accordingly, the three leaders had circulated messages among their followers, which made the situation uncomfortable for Shah over the past few months.

There was whispering among the party leaders on the day Deb was removed from the CM's post last year that the BJP central leadership made Saha only an interim Chief Minister to tackle the anti-incumbency against Deb's government.

Deb's followers had carried on a campaign that he enjoyed the support of the party's central leadership and would be made the CM again after the BJP won the coming elections.

Similarly, Bhowmik and Bhattacharjee were also eyeing the hit seat, as so long the BJP central leaders did not make any public announcement about Saha's future.

According to party leaders, Shah during the interaction with the state's top leaders before leaving for Delhi made it clear that Tripura BJP will run under the direction of Dr Saha and Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma and asked everyone to work together under the CM's leadership.

“When Modi ji made Manik Shah the Chief Minister, I asked him to carry forward the development in the state. In a very short span of time, Tripura came up to the third position in the country among the small states in implementing development works of the Narendra Modi-led government in the state. It is a big achievement,” Shah mentioned in the rally. (UNI)