Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manik Saha on Sunday took oath as the chief minister of Tripura, ANI reported.

Saha was administered the oath by Governor SN Arya at the Raj Bhavan in Agartala.

He was elected as the new leader of the state legislature party on Saturday hours after Biplab Deb announced his resignation from the chief minister’s post. Deb’s resignation came less than a year ahead of the state Assembly election scheduled for March.

At the meeting of BJP MLAs to decide on the next chief minister, state Cabinet minister Ram Prasad Paul had reportedly protested against proposing Saha’s name for the post. A scuffle was also reported among the MLAs.

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On Sunday, Saha said that he would carry on the development agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state, PTI reported. “Will focus on the law and order situation,” he added.

Saha had left the Congress to join the BJP in 2016. He took over as the BJP’s Tripura unit chief in 2020. He is also the president of the Tripura Cricket Association, according to PTI.