Agartala, Mar 31: Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha, who is the Tripura BJP President, was elected to Rajya Sabha on Thursday against the lone seat of the saffron party ruled North Eastern state.
After the counting of votes in the evening, Saha, a dental surgeon-turned-politician, secured 40 votes while his rival CPI-M candidate Bhanulal Saha bagged 15 seats as four seats were lying vacant in the 60 member Tripura Assembly.
Returning officer of the Rajya Sabha poll, S. Mog communicated the result to the Election Commission, officially announcing the result in Delhi.
Of the 40 votes, 33 belonged to the BJP and seven to BJP’s ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT).
Brishaketu Debbarma, IPFT MLA, did not cast his vote on Thursday as he has resigned from the Assembly in June 2021 and joined TIPRA (Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance) headed by Tripura’s royal scion, Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman.
However, Debbarma’s resignation was not accepted by the Assembly Speaker, Ratan Chakraborty for some procedural reasons.
In the electoral history of Tripura, the BJP has won the lone Rajya Sabha seat the first time, even as the party succeeded in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 by winning all the two seats in the lower house of Parliament.
Saha’s win to the upper house of Parliament was almost certain as the ruling party along with its ally IPFT is having the strength of 40 or 41 MLAs in the 60 member house while the opposition CPI-M has 15 legislators after the death of the party legislator and former Assembly Speaker, Ramendra Chandra Debnath.
The three seats of the Tripura assembly are also lying vacant.
Dissident BJP legislators, Sudip Roy Barman and Ashis Kumar Saha resigned from the assembly last month and joined the Congress.
In January, the Tripura Assembly Speaker disqualified another dissident BJP MLA, Ashis Das, after he joined the Trinamool Congress, openly criticising the party and top leaders.
While congratulating the newly elected Rajya Sabha member, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb tweeted: “Heartiest congratulations to Shri Dr Manik Saha Ji for being elected as the first BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Tripura. I believe you will work sincerely in the Upper House of Parliament for the welfare of the people of Tripura under the guidance of Hon PM Shri Narendra Modi ji.”
Saha was elected as President of ruling BJP Tripura Pradesh Committee in January 2020 replacing Deb.
The 69-year-old Saha is also a Professor and Head of the Department of the Tripura Medical College and B. R. Ambedkar Memorial Teaching Hospital in Agartala and President of the Tripura Cricket Association.
