Agartala: The meeting of the BJP’s legislature party holds all the keys to the state’s new council of ministers that will take the oath of office on March 8 next in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The face of the chief minister is also slated to be finalised in the meeting.
Sources said the meeting was supposed to be held at the official residence of the Chief Minister on Sunday, but owing to some internal preparations the meeting would be held at the BJP election office on Sunday afternoon.
Assam Chief Minister and NEDA convener Himanta Biswa Sarma made a very short trip to Agartala on Saturday. He landed at MBB Airport Agartala around 4 pm in the afternoon and departed at 8 pm in the evening.
From an observer’s point of view, Dr. Manik Saha did enough to get a second term in office as his “Mr Clean” image helped the BJP gain an edge over the opposition parties.
But, the path seems not to be a bed of roses.
If BJP insiders are to be believed, a tussle between two camps divided under Dr. Saha and Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik is already underway for the top post.
The camp led by Bhoumik argues that unlike Dr. Saha, she is an organic BJP leader who never changed her party affiliation. Even in the most turbulent times for the BJP, Bhoumik stayed with the party.
And, if this is not the right time to get rewarded for breaking a Left citadel kept unchallenged for fifty years, the party could have ended up sending the wrong message to the loyalists who are acting as the pillars of the party’s organisation.
A top BJP functionary has admitted that a group of the party’s MLAs may lend their support to Bhoumik on the day of the legislature party meeting.
Meanwhile, Dr. Saha is also not a person who can be ignored. When the party appointed him as the chief of the party’s state unit, Dr. Saha did well.
Even in Rajya Sabha, he did not fail to draw the notice of the party’s central leadership, which eventually earned him the responsibility of Chief Minister. And, his little more than six-month stint was full of achievements. From a hike in DA and social pension, setting up Dental College, etc. helped the party in power expand its base of beneficiaries. But, it does not mean a good administrator always makes a good politician.
Sources said, in order to quell the new wave of rumbling within the party, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has been sent to visit Tripura as a troubleshooter.
“Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has arrived here in the state just to address these issues. The dramatic emotional outburst of Ram Prasad Paul shortly after the BJP legislature party meeting where Dr. Manik Saha was declared as the successor of Biplab Kumar Deb is still fresh in the minds of people. At any cost, such an embarrassing situation must not reoccur. Now, how Sarma deals with the situation that could only be known as the politics unfold in the next couple of days,” a top BJP told EastMojo requesting anonymity.
EASTMOJO PREMIUM
Help sustain honest journalism.
Sarma during his visit to Tripura dropped a hint of sharing power with TIPRA motha, the party that emerged as the second largest party in the state assembly with 13 seats.
Sarma said his party is ready to invite TIPRA to be a part of the government in power and the BJP will look after the aspirations and grievances of the tribal areas.
However, he maintained, “BJP was eager to talk only on one condition: the issue of Greater Tipraland has to exclude the agenda of talks.”
Also Read | Tripura: Resorting to violence opposition’s habit, says outgoing CM