Agartala (Tripura) [India], May 15 (ANI): Dr Manik Saha, who was chosen by the BJP as the new chief minister of Tripura, is a Rajya Sabha MP and chief of the party in the state which will go the polls by March next year.

A professor of dental surgery, Dr Saha will be expected to steer the party to victory in the assembly polls amid a multi-cornered contest in the northeastern state where Trinamool Congress is also seeking to emerge as a key player.

Dr Saha, 69, was named as the leader of the BJP legislature party hours after the resignation of Biplab Deb. He will take oath as the 11th Chief Minister of Tripura.

The sudden political development came as a surprise to the people of the state.

Dr Saha had joined BJP in 2016 after quitting the Congress. He was made party chief in 2020 and elected to Rajya Sabha in March this yearBefore coming to active politics, Dr Saha taught at Tripura Medical College as Professor.

Seen as honest and accessible, he has been engaged in development work at the grassroots and assisting the needy.

Born in 1953 in a business family of Agartala, Dr Saha has an active interest in sports. He has been an athlete in his college days and has been president of the Tripura Cricket Association.

He pursued education at Government Dental College Patna and King George's Medical College, Lucknow.

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav and party general secretary Vinod Tawde were in Agartala as central observers on the day of the leadership transition in the state.

Deb had taken oath as the first Chief Minister of Bharatiya Janata Party in Tripura in 2018 ending the 25-year-rule of the Communist Party of India in Tripura.

Dr Saha met state Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya and submitted the claim to form the government.

In a tweet thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda for giving him an opportunity to serve the people of the state in a new role. (ANI)