Who Is Manik Saha? BJP's 'Mr Clean' Tipped To Be Tripura CM For Second Term

Saha, a dental surgeon-turned-politician was chosen over other potential rivals including union minister Pratima Bhowmik as the Chief Minister of Tripura in 2022 by the BJP.

Who Is Manik Saha? BJP's 'Mr Clean' Tipped To Be Tripura's CM For Second Term

Source : ANI

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha won from the Town Bardowali constituency defeating his closest rival Ashish Kumar Saha of the Congress party on Thursday. Manik Saha defeated the congress veteran leader by 1,257 votes despite detractors within his own party predicting a defeat for the leader from the prestigious constituency.

Who is Manik Saha?

Saha, who is likely to become Tripura chief minister for a second term, according to a report by news agency PTI joined the BJP in 2016 after quitting the Congress and was made the chief minister of the state in 2022 after the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) found out that the former chief minister Biplab Deb was responsible for the declining popularity of the BJP in the state due to his brash actions and poor law and order record.

Saha, a dental surgeon-turned-politician was chosen over other potential rivals including union minister Pratima Bhowmik as the Chief Minister of Tripura in 2022 by the BJP after Biplab Kumar Deb resigned with less than a year to go until state elections. 

Saha, who is portrayed by the BJP as 'Mr Clean' took over as chief of Tripura’s BJP unit in 2020 and also served as the member of Rajya Sabha for a short period from April 3 to July 4 last year. He then fought and won the assembly by-poll from the Town Bordowali constituency in 2022.

The chief minister did his schooling in Tripura in the early 1970's and then went on to do his higher education in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, according to news agency PTI. Saha, who is an oral and maxillofacial surgery specialist completed his Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the Government Dental College, Patna. He also used to teach at the Tripura Medical College located in Hapania.

Saha was the former president of the Tripura Cricket Association and a former badminton player too. He is known in the state for his clean image and honest politics.