Amid infighting in Tripura BJP, ally IPFT and Opposition CPI(M) seek Biplab Deb floor test

Amid infighting in BJP Tripura and voices against CM Biplab Deb, a ruling BJP-IPFT government minister, as well as Opposition that includes CPI(M) and Congress, have demanded floor test to decide Deb's fate. As per reports in local media, CPI(M) also came down heavily on BJP's central leadership and demanded Deb's resignation, while Congress mocked Deb's understanding of Parliamentary democracy. What comes as a warning bell for BJP, its ally IPFT's chief NC Debbarma expressed his anger at Deb's challenge for a referendum, and said that he must prove his majority in a floor test, as per local reports. 

Chaos in BJP Tripura

The BJP top brass stepped in to defuse the crisis in the party's Tripura unit on Wednesday and assured Biplab Deb that he can continue serving as the Chief Minister. After a group of BJP members raised 'Biplab Hatao, BJP Bachao' slogans at the state guest house, Deb asked the people of Tripura to gather at the Astabal Maidan in Guwahati on December 13 to decide his fate as the Chief Minister. Subsequently, both the CM and BJP's Tripura in-charge Vinod Sonkar spoke to the party's national president JP Nadda in this regard. The Tripura CM was then advised by top leadership to drop his programme scheduled on December 13.

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Tripura MLAs meet BJP president

The infighting in Tripura BJP first came to the fore when 4 BJP MLAs from the state- Ram Prasad Paul, Asish Kumar Saha, Sushanta Chowdhury and Parimal Debbarma met JP Nadda on October 13. The leader of this dissident group is believed to be Sudip Roy Barman, who was recently sacked as the Tripura Health Minister. Reportedly, they complained about the alleged misgovernance by the current administration and pointed out that it could lead to BJP's defeat in the 2023 Assembly polls. One of the dissidents claimed that nearly 25 MLAs wanted a reshuffling of the Council of Ministers so that good governance could be delivered to the people. 

READ: 7 Tripura BJP MLAs in Delhi to meet party chief Nadda; wants CM Biplab Deb to be removed

The 2018 Tripura Assembly polls

In the 2018 Assembly polls, BJP won 36 seats in the 60-member Tripura Assembly as compared to zero seats won by the party in the previous election. With a vote share of 43.59%, BJP ensured that the ruling CPI(M) could bag only 16 seats. On the other hand, none of Congress' candidates registered a victory. At present, the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura has 8 MLAs and they are a part of the ruling coalition in the state. 

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READ: Tripura CM asks people to decide his leadership future on Dec 13; BJP reassures Biplab Deb