TRIPURA: Seventy-year-old BJP leader Manik Saha on Wednesday took oath as chief minister of the sensitive border state of Tripura. Eight more ministers, including Ratan Lal Nath, Pranajit Singha Roy, Santana Chakma, Tinku Roy and Bikash Debbarma were also sworn in by Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda as well as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were among the dignitaries present on the occasion. In all, eight ministers from the BJP and one from its ally IPFT were inducted into the cabinet. Of these, five were new faces, while four ministers who were in the earlier cabinet found a place in the new line-up.

The BJP won 32 seats in the 60-member House in the recent assembly elections in Tripura, while its ally IPFT managed to secure one seat.

Manik Saha had been made chief minister earlier in 2022, replacing Biplab Kumar Deb, in a brand renewal exercise after it was found that his popularity rating was plummeting on account of the poor law and order situation in Tripura’s hinterland.

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