A year after he first took over as the chief minister of Tripura replacing his predecessor Biplab Kumar Deb in a sudden change of guard, Dr Manik Saha Tuesday said the BJP-led government would be in power in the state for the next 40-50 years. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a public event at Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhawan in Agartala, the Chief Minister said: “I shall not claim that I have done everything. But we have done our best and always we should try and give our best. Our government is already doing it and… we shall do everything that we feel is in the interest of the people.” Asked about the major challenges he faced in the first year of his chief ministerial stint, Manik Saha said no challenge should be considered insurmountable. The maxillofacial surgeon-turned-politician joined the BJP at the behest of Deb in 2016, when the latter was trying to make his mark in Tripura politics dominated for decades by the CPI(M). Manik Saha served in different capacities in the saffron party – in frontal organisations, as district party president, in charge of panna pramukhs ahead of the 2018 assembly elections, and later as the BJP state president till May last year, when he was named BJP’s legislative party leader and CM designate. Till then, Manik Saha had not participated in any direct electoral contest and had been elected to the Rajya Sabha just a few months ago. He later contested and won a bye-election from the Bardowali assembly constituency, defeating Congress’s Ashish Kumar Saha. Party insiders said that though Manik Saha is rather new in politics, the decision of the party to bank on his clean image and educational credentials paid off in this year’s assembly polls. The BJP returned to power in the north-eastern state – albeit with a lower vote margin and fewer seats. Talking about the prospects of the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Manik Saha said: “People have faith in the BJP-IPFT alliance, which is why we got a second term in Tripura… I feel this government will stay in power for the coming 40-50 years.” Before him, his predecessor Deb had said in 2020 that the BJP would stay in power for the next 30 years in the state if people hung pictures of Swami Vivekananda in their homes. Asked about the major thrust areas of the government, Manik Saha said: “We are working for development, development, and development. Prime Minister Modi says we have no other priority but development. No state, country, or society can proceed without development… The law-and-order situation is being maintained in Tripura in a way that is conducive to development.” Earlier in the day, the chief minister launched the distribution of spices under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Four spices including chili, cumin, coriander, and turmeric powder would be distributed through 2,050 fair-price shops in the state.
