GUWAHATI: The ruling BJP in Tripura suffered a jolt on Friday when MLA Burba Mohan Tripura resigned from the party as well as the Assembly.
The veteran leader, who represented the Karbook constituency, will join the tribe-based party Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA).
Accompanied by TIPRA chief and former state Congress president Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman, the legislator submitted his resignation letter to Speaker Ratan Chakraborty.
Deb Barman confirmed Tripura would join the TIPRA.
“He has resigned from the BJP and the Assembly. I accompanied him to express my solidarity with him. He will join now TIPRA,” Deb Barman told journalists.
After Tripura’s resignation, the BJP’s strength in the 60-member House got reduced to 35. Leaders of the party were not available for comment.
Tripura is the fourth BJP legislator to ditch the party in the past one year. Ashis Das, former minister Sudip Roy Barman and Ashis Kumar Saha had deserted the party after falling out with former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
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Roy Barman and Saha had joined the Congress in February this year while Das had worn the Trinamool Congress colours last year but left the party in May this year. Roy Barman is now a Congress MLA after having won a by-election earlier this year.
The former CM Deb was elected to Rajya Sabha on Thursday. He had defeated CPI-M candidate and former minister Bhanulal Saha by 28 votes. The election was necessitated by the resignation of Manik Saha who was appointed as the CM in May.
The TIPRA, which holds sway in the 20 seats in tribal areas, is expected to give the BJP a run for its money in the Assembly elections.
These seats had been traditionally the CPI-M’s strongholds. Now, the Left party has virtually lost the space to the TIPRA. The CPI-M has appointed Jitendra Choudhury, a tribal, as the state general secretary to warm up to the fellow tribals and regain the lost ground.
The Assembly elections in Tripura would be held by March 2023.