Agartala, March 8: Manik Saha on Wednesday took oath as the chief minister of Tripura after the BJP-IPFT alliance retained power in the state for the second straight term in the 60-member state assembly.
Saha for the second time took oath as the chief minister of Tripura.
The BJP-IPFT alliance won 32 seats in the Tripura state elections, for which polls were held on February 16.
Eight other legislators were also inducted as cabinet ministers against the total ministerial strength of twelve.
Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya administered the oath and secrecy to the Chief Minister and other ministers – Ratan Lal Nath, Pranajit Singh Roy, Santana Chakma, Sushanta Chowdhury, Tinku Roy, Bikash Debbarma, Sudhangshu Das, Sukla Charan Noatia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President J.P. Nadda, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Manipur CM N. Biren Singh, Arunachal CM Pema Khandu, Sikkim CM Prem Singh Tamang, and a host of dignitaries were in attendance at the swearing-in-ceremony held at the Swami Vivekananda Maidan.
In the February 16 Assembly polls, the BJP won 32 seats, one more than the magic figure of 31 in the 60-member Assembly, while its ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura got one seat.
The BJP, which first came to power in 2018 assembly polls after thrashing the CPI-M led Left Front after 25 years (1993-2018), retained power in Tripura for the second straight term in the recent assembly polls.
The tribal-based Tipra Motha Party (TMP), which for the first time contested 42 assembly seats on its own, emerged as the second largest party by securing 13 seats.
The CPI-M won 11 seats while the Congress bagged three.
