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Journalism of Courage
A day after the Tripura Assembly election results were announced, Chief Minister Manik Saha tendered his resignation to Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya but was asked to continue till the new government is sworn in.
Speaking to reporters in front of the Raj Bhavan on Friday, Saha said, “I visited the governor today to tender my resignation. He accepted my resignation but asked me to continue as the CM till the new government is sworn in”.
Asked when the swearing-in is scheduled for, Saha said it might be on March 8 though the date is subject to change.
Saha said the BJP had got the majority in the House and that it would be back soon in the Raj Bhavan to stake a claim to forming the next government. However, he did not give any timeline.
Saha, who replaced Biplab Kumar Deb as chief minister in a surprise move last year, was earlier seen as a Deb loyalist but later cemented his own image as a “gentleman politician” critical of political hooliganism, for which his predecessor had been criticised.
Though the BJP had not named any chief ministerial candidate, the party’s poll campaign suggested Saha would be retained in the hot seat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s poll rallies called for a second term for the “Modi-Manik Saha sarkar”.
Sources in the saffron party, however, said that Union minister Pratima Bhoumik, who has won the Dhanpur Assembly seat, might also be considered for the chief minister post.
