Agartala: Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik resigned from her post as MLA on Wednesday, putting an end to the suspense over her future role in Tripura politics.
The resignation paves the way for another by-election from the state’s Dhanpur assembly constituency.
Bhoumik was the first non-Left MLA to represent Dhanpur in the last 50 years, but her resignation has left the electorate of the constituency disheartened. She resigned a day before the newly elected MLAs were to be sworn in by the newly appointed Pro-tem speaker Binay Bhusan Das.
Das was administered the oath of office by Governor SN Arya at Raj Bhavan, just hours before receiving Bhoumik’s resignation letter.
During her resignation announcement, Bhoumik was accompanied by senior BJP leader and Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath.
Bhoumik expressed her well wishes to the newly appointed Pro-tem Speaker and hoped that the new government would fulfil its commitments towards the overall development of the state. She spoke to media persons while conveying her message.
Bhoumik said the election results for the 60-member state assembly were declared on March 2, in which the BJP won an absolute majority.
“However, due to my constitutional obligations of holding two portfolios as a Union Minister and an MLA, I had to relinquish one of the roles. Therefore, I decided to submit my resignation from the post of MLA,” Bhoumik said.
Bhoumik stated that she had resigned from her post as advised by the party’s high command. She added that the BJP’s top leadership had allowed her to contest the elections despite being an elected MP and holding the post of Minister of State. However, now the party has advised her to continue her role as a Parliamentarian, which is why she tendered her resignation. Bhoumik emphasized that there would be no compromise with the promises of development she had made during the campaign trail, and all promises would be kept for the development of Dhanpur.
EASTMOJO PREMIUM
Help sustain honest journalism.
Sources within the BJP revealed that former Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma would contest the elections from Dhanpur to be reinstated in his post. The by-elections for Dhanpur will be conducted within six months as per the norms, while by-elections will also be held in two ADC constituencies as Deputy Chief Executive Member Animesh Debbarma and Executive Member Chitta Ranjan Debbarma will be sworn in as MLAs from the TIPRA motha party. However, the by-elections for district council areas will be conducted by the State Election Commission, unlike Dhanpur, which comes under the purview of the Election Commission of India.
Also Read | Ruckus in Tripurasundari temple as buffalo brought for sacrifice escapes, 2 injured