Agartala: Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Tuesday expanded his cabinet adding three new faces -- Ram Prasad Paul, Sushanta Chowdhury, Bhagaban Chandra Das. In the first-ever cabinet expansion after the BJP-IPFT alliance assumed office in March 2018, the CM did let go of some of his key portfolios. With the new inductions, the strength of the state cabinet rose to 11 against the option of 12.
Congratulating the new ministers after the oath-taking ceremony, the CM said he hopes that they surely live up to the expectations of the party and the government. "All the new members who have taken the oath of office are young. It is PM Modi who is guiding all and the work should be aimed towards the overall development of the people”, said Deb.
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On the pre-poll promises, Deb maintained that many of the promises were already implemented on the ground. “We have fulfilled a number of promises already, the rest will be done in time”, said Deb. The Chief Minister was speaking to reporters outside the Raj Bhavan after the swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers.
Newly sworn-in minister Sushanta Chowdhury said, “We have promised overall development of people irrespective of caste, creed, gender or any other social discrimination. Many of the things that are left will be delivered before the 2023 assembly elections." On being asked about the Trinamool Congress, he categorically said, Trinamool has no future in Tripura, it is a tested force that failed time and again in Tripura. The event also witnessed some emotionally charged moments as family members of the new ministers were overwhelmed to witness their beloved ones taking the oath of office.
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The new cabinet now gives an impression of a combination that consists of sharp-witted veterans and budding faces that has been successfully tested on the ground. If analysed very carefully, there are a number of crucial takeaways that political observers have singled out. To begin with, the average age of ministers has reduced due to the new entries. The next point: the added number of BJP people in the cabinet.
Although a BJP-IPFT combine is ruling the state, the key portfolios went to the strongmen leaders who switched over from the Congress party. Be it ex-minister Sudip Roy Barman, minister Pranajit Singha Roy or Ratan Lal Nath- all were from the Congress originally. The number of BJP leaders was three: CM Biplab Kumar Deb, Deputy CM Jishnu Dev Varma and Social Welfare minister Santana Chakma. Now the total score of BJP would be five with the addition of Ram Prasad Paul and Bhagaban Das.
