Agartala: Rajib Bhattacharjee, the President of the ruling BJP in Tripura, is set to take his oath as a Rajya Sabha member on Tuesday, September 10. The oath-taking ceremony will be conducted by Rajya Sabha Chairman, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Bhattacharjee was elected to the Rajya Sabha on September 3, defeating CPI-M candidate Sudhan Das in the by-election. Bhattacharjee received 47 votes from the 60-member Tripura Assembly, while Das secured only 10 votes. The Rajya Sabha seat became vacant following former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb’s resignation, as Deb was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tripura West constituency.
Bhattacharjee, 53, was appointed as the Tripura BJP chief on August 25, 2022, succeeding Manik Saha, who had become Chief Minister in May 2022. Bhattacharjee has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the past 36 years and had contested the previous year's Assembly elections from Banamalipur without success.
The Rajya Sabha seat from Tripura was previously held by Manik Saha (2022) and Biplab Kumar Deb (2022-2024), who both left their positions before completing their six-year terms due to political shifts. Saha resigned from the Rajya Sabha to take on the role of Chief Minister in May 2022.
After his recent election, Bhattacharjee expressed gratitude towards BJP's central leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President J.P. Nadda, and Home Minister Amit Shah. He emphasized his commitment to the development of Tripura and the welfare of its residents.
The BJP holds 33 seats in the Tripura Assembly, with its allies, the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), holding 13 and 1 seats, respectively. The Congress, with three MLAs, abstained from the vote, citing alleged violence in recent panchayat elections.
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