Biplab Kumar Deb, an RSS functionary from Tripura, will take oath as the BJP’s first chief minister in the state, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari confirmed on 6 March.
The 2018 Assembly elections saw the Bharatiya Janata Party pull off a landmark victory in Tripura, ending a 25-year-long Left Front rule. The BJP – which allied with the Indigenous People’s Front Of Tripura (IPFT) for the state Assembly election – did not project a chief ministerial face during the campaigning period.
But with Gadkari’s confirmation, here’s a quick look at the man who is touted to be the next Chief Minister of Tripura.
Biplab has been the president of Tripura’s BJP unit since 2016. Born in the state’s Gomoti district, he completed his schooling and graduation from Tripura before moving to Delhi for higher studies. During his time in Tripura, he worked as a gym instructor. His wife is a deputy manager at the State Bank of India – and they have two children.
An RSS Man Who Rose up The Ranks
Biplab fought the 2018 elections from the Banamalipur constituency in Agartala and won with a margin of over 9,500 votes.
Biplab returned to Tripura after a 15-year hiatus and joined the RSS as a volunteer under stalwart KN Govindacharya. He is believed to have spent days at the RSS HQ in Nagpur during his years in Delhi.
BJP leader Sunil Deodhar was one of his mentors. In 2014, Deodhar was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign manager in Varanasi. That year, he was made the BJP’s Tripura in-charge and was instrumental in crowning Biplab the state unit’s youngest ever party chief. He then campaigned for the elections of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
He also trained under Ganesh Singh, the BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Satna in Madhya Pradesh. Biplab was instrumental in key defections from the Congress to the BJP prior to the 2018 election.
BJP’s ‘Youth Face’
He is known in the political circles of Tripura for his suave demeanor and sophistication.
Even though Biplab was not the BJP’s chief ministerial face, he was definitely one of its most prominent faces in Tripura. At 48, he is a young contender who appealed to the youth on issues of unemployment.
He promised to implement the 7th Pay Commission recommendations in the state if elected. He also promised new jobs and more investment in the traditional sectors of the state, like the bamboo industry. He is said to have got the bigwigs in the BJP to campaign in Tripura, and along with Himanta Biswa Sarma and Ram Madhav, is said to have scripted the BJP’s gains in the state.
(With inputs from Tripura Infoway, Financial Express, NDTV, Hindustan Times)
(This story has been updated to reflect the confirmation of Deb’s elevation as CM.)
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