BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav and Tripura BJP chief Biplab Kumar Deb greet supporters after the party’s victory in Tripura Assembly elections. (PTI)
Keeping his poll promise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present for the Tripura swearing-in ceremony on Friday. The BJP-ITBP alliance, which decimated the Left’s 25-year rule in the northeastern state, ascended to power today giving BJP its first chief minister in the state. Biplab Deb, 48, took charge as Chief Minister with Jishnu Debbarma as his deputy.
The BJP, which did not win any seat in 2013, bagged 43 seats in alliance with IPFT (Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura) in the 60-member Assembly on the back of a high-voltage campaign. The Left, under its four-time chief minister Manik Sarkar, could win just 16 seats, down from 33 seats last time.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and Deb visited the CPM headquarters to invite Sarkar to the ceremony. While CPM state secretary Bijan Dhar said party leaders would not attend the ceremony in light of the post-poll violence, sources said the former CM might attend the ceremony.
PM is arrived at the Agartala airport around noon. He reached the venue, the massive Assam Rifles grounds, directly from the airport. This is a departure from oath-taking ceremonies in Tripura that have so far taken place at the Raj Bhavan. Apart from Modi and party president Amit Shah, several other BJP leaders will be attending the ceremony.