Agartala: Almost 35 months after the BJP-IPFT government came to power in the state, chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb is likely to bring new faces as he plans for the cabinet expansion in Tripura.
Deb, who was summoned in Delhi on Tuesday by the party’s central leadership, returned to the state on Thursday morning.
He also met with the Tripura Governor Ramesh Kumar Bais and apprised him about the expansion of the state cabinet. The CM is likely to induct four new faces into the cabinet while dropping one minister, sources close to him said.
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It is also learned that before the monsoon assembly, the oath taking ceremony will be conducted. Even speaker Rebati Mohan Das could be replaced by deputy speaker Biswabandhu Sen.
The party is also likely to consider having a new face from the Schedule Caste community and one representative from the South Tripura district.
“The number of ministers will be decided based on the central leadership’s decision. The high command is not happy with the performance of some ministers and they are likely to consider introducing new faces in the cabinet,” the source said.
It is also likely that the cabinet will see little reshuffle within the next few days once the party high command gives its signal to the chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
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Meanwhile, a section of rebel MLAs including the former health minister Sudip Roy Barman, who was dropped by the chief minister earlier, is likely to be left behind in the race of getting the seat in the cabinet.
“The union home minister who earlier held a meeting with the chief minister in presence of national president JP Nadda will finalise the list of ministers and the portfolio to be allotted to them,” a source from the BJP said.
The reshuffle and cabinet expansion comes just ahead of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) and Civic Bodies elections likely to take place later this year.
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Both the BJP and its ruling ally IPFT would contest in the TTAADC polls for the first time against the opposition CPIM which ruled the district council for over two decades before the end of its tenure in May last year.
The TTAADC covers 68% of the total geographical area of the state and is home to over one-third of the total population of Tripura. The district council has a total of 30 seats of which 28 are for elected members, while two are nominated by the governor of Tripura.
