49 year old BJP leader Biplab Deb on Friday took oath as the 20th chief minister of Tripura. Prime minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, Union ministers and BJP chief ministers attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Jishnu Deb Burman also took oath as deputy chief minister of Tripura.
The 49-year-old is the first BJP leader to become the chief minister of the state ending the 25-year-old rule of the Left Front government in the state in the recently-concluded assembly elections. While BJP won 35 seats, its alliance partner Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) managed to get eight seats, giving the NDA a 43-seat majority in the 60-member assembly.
Known for being an outspoken person, Deb enjoys good relations with senior leaders of all political parties in the state.
The chief minister elect also personally met former chief minister Manik Sarkar to invite him for the swearing-in ceremony on Friday.
In a bid to take on the 25-year-old term of the Left front, the BJP focussed their election campaign on parivartan (change). Keeping anti-incumbency in mind, the party slogan for this election was “Chalo Paltai” (Let’s change the government), which seems to have resonated with the people. Taking on a cadre-based party, the BJP also worked on their organisational set-up in the state from the ground up.
Apart from his public life, Deb is a fitness enthusiast and also tried his hand as a car dealer in Agartala in the past. His wife Niti is an officer at State Bank of India. The couple has a son and a daughter. – PTI