BJP Names Former UP Minister Mahendra Singh As Election In Charge For Poll-Bound Tripura

Samir Oraon, who oversees the BJP ST Morcha in the Rajya Sabha, has also been named by the party as the co-incharge for the Tripura elections.

Mahendra Singh was named as the election in-charge for the upcoming Tripura elections by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday, news agency ANI reported. Mahendra Singh is a former minister in Yogi Adityanath's Uttar Pradesh administration.

Taking to the Twitter, BJP stated: “BJP National President JP Nadda has appointed Dr Mahendra Singh, MLC Uttar Pradesh as the party’s election in-charge and Samir Oraon MP Rajya Sabha as co-incharge for upcoming legislative elections in Tripura."

Samir Oraon, who oversees the BJP ST Morcha in the Rajya Sabha, has also been named by the party as the co-incharge for the Tripura elections.

Former Tripura CM Biplab Deb, who was recently elected as a Rajya Sabha MP, tweeted his support for the government's decision and expressed confidence in his ability to achieve a "huge win" in the state.

“Together we will form the party’s government again in the state by giving a massive victory. The double engine government of BJP under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji has done historic work in taking Tripura forward in the sense of development,” Biplab Deb tweeted.

Dr. Mahendra Singh and Samir Oraon received congratulations and good wishes from Sambit Patra, the BJP's national coordinator for the north-eastern states.

A few days ago, an MLA from the BJP's partner Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) handed in his resignation to Assembly Speaker Ratan Chakraborty, dealing a serious blow to the party.

Tripura's state assembly elections are anticipated to occur in the first half of 2023.

2018 saw the end of the Left's 25-year rule in Tripura when the BJP and its ally, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), took office. The BJP won a majority of 36 of the 60 Assembly seats in 2018, and its ally IPFT received eight. Following the most recent resignations, the IPFT now has six MLAs.

The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, and the Tripura Indigenous Peoples Regional Alliance (TIPRA), whose leader is Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, are both expected to run for 35 seats on their own in the impending 2023 Assembly elections, present fresh problems for the BJP.

Another major issue is the quest for an independent state for the native Tripuris.

(With Inputs From ANI)