Dr. Manik Saha started his second innings as Tripura Chief Minister after the BJP and ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura gained 33 seats, two greater than the bulk mark within the 60-member Assembly.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Before rising to fame as Tripura’s first maxillofacial surgeon, Manik Saha, for these in Agartala, was often known as Makhan Lal Saha’s son. The senior Saha was the primary entrepreneur to construct a deluxe film theatre within the metropolis within the Nineteen Seventies. The household, which migrated from Bangladesh’s Brahmanbaria district, had a variety of companies in Tripura and Kolkata.
Unlike his brothers, Dr. Saha didn’t enterprise into the household enterprise. He attained a level from a dental faculty in Patna and did his postgraduation in Lucknow. Dr. Saha’s political journey started with the Congress. He will not be primarily a Congress turncoat like many within the BJP’s Tripura unit as he was not actively concerned with the grand previous get together’s programmes. His political ambition grew in 2016 when the highest BJP management made it a mission to uproot the CPI(M)-led Left Front in Tripura. He was among the many first Congress leaders and members to affix the BJP (in 2016) to finish the greater than 20 years of communist rule in Tripura. The BJP quickly entrusted him with supervising the ‘prishta pramukhs’ — booth-level staff coping with voters. He labored underneath the then State observer, Sunil Deodhar, and was near former get together president Biplab Kumar Deb, who grew to become Chief Minister after the BJP seized a historic win within the 2018 Assembly elections.
Also learn: Saha within the saddle: On the highway forward for the Tripura Chief Minister
When Mr. Deb was requested to step down because the State BJP president in 2020, he reportedly advisable Dr. Saha as his substitute. The get together’s Central management agreed. His appointment appeared to make no distinction in the way in which the get together was run as Mr. Deb continued to name the photographs. The former additionally prevented any confusion or confrontation. This paid dividends because the get together nominated him for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Tripura in 2022.
Power shift
On May 14 that 12 months, the BJP abruptly requested Mr. Deb to step down and rushed some Central observers to Agartala to facilitate the election of Dr. Saha because the legislature get together chief. Dr. Saha took oath because the Chief Minister the very subsequent day. Although the get together compensated Mr. Deb with a slot within the Rajya Sabha, it has not but defined why he was eliminated because the Chief Minister.
Also learn: Biplab Kumar Deb wins Rajya Sabha by-election
Dr. Saha, who by no means contested a normal election and was not a part of the federal government in any method, needed to take care of a number of points initially as Mr. Deb’s affect was seen all over the place within the administration. His calm manner helped him deal with the state of affairs and apparently enhance the get together’s picture in simply 9 months earlier than the February elections. He carried out a bunch of schemes and programmes wanted to face the voters within the polls.
These included growing the dearness allowance for presidency staff to twenty% and doubling the social stipend for BPL households to ₹2,000. His path to the police to behave powerful additionally enhanced his picture as an individual with a distinct type of functioning. His directions to eradicate drug-trafficking and monetary corruption additionally appeared to work.
Ahead of the polls, the BJP introduced him as a CM-probable as they discovered him as the most effective wager in a good race, particularly after the Left Front and the Congress got here collectively. The announcement was believed to have dashed the hopes of Mr. Deb, who wished to stage a comeback. Union Minister of State Pratima Bhoumik, who was additionally eyeing the chair of the Chief Minister and gained from Dhanpur, a CPI(M) bastion, was equally disenchanted.
Second innings
Dr. Saha, 70, started his second innings as Chief Minister after the BJP and ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura gained 33 seats — two greater than the bulk mark within the 60-member Assembly.
Now in energy, all eyes are on how Mr. Saha would implement the greater than 100 election pledges the BJP made through the marketing campaign. He is the Chief Minister of a State that faces acute unemployment issues, moreover points related to advanced demography and ethnic variations. Tripura additionally has a protracted International Boundary and border crimes are rampant. Moreover, Mr. Saha has the additional burden of hanging a steadiness between the get together and the federal government to maintain the organisation robust on the grassroots stage whereas governance challenges are met. A tall ask certainly.
