Biplab Deb to be next Tripura CM, Jishnu Deb Burman his deputy; swearing-in likely on Friday

Biplab Kumar Deb is set to become the next chief minister of Tripura following the BJP's strong showing in the recent Assembly election, in which the saffron outfit toppled the Left Front's 25-year rule. Jishnu Deb Burman will become the deputy chief minister.

The announcement was made by Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who along with Jual Oram, was sent to Tripura as central observers. "Biplab Kumar Deb has been unanimously elected as the leader of Tripura BJP legislature party," Gadkari said, as per PTI.

According to a report in India Today, Deb and Burman were unanimously elected to head the government in a meeting of BJP and IPFT MLAs in Agartala on Tuesday. The BJP has 35 MLAs and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) has eight.

Deb is expected to meet Tripura governor Tathagata Roy later on Tuesday to stake claim to form the government, the report said.

According to News18, the swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held on Friday at the Swami Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala. It is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states.

Who is Biplab Deb?

Deb had humble beginnings. Born in a middle-class family at Rajdhar Nagar village in Gomati district on 25 November, 1971, he completed his graduation from Udaipur College in the state in 1999. His father Haradhan Deb was a local leader of the Jan Sangh.

Deb left for Delhi soon after his graduation to join the RSS. The 48-year-old leader served the right-wing organisation for around 16 years, under the guidance of Govindacharya and Krishnagopal Sharma, two prominent Sangh leaders.

File photo of Biplab Deb. Twitter@BjpBiplab

In 2015, he returned to Tripura and assumed the charge of Central Jan Sampark Pramukh for the BJP.

Deb was declared the state president of the BJP on 6 January, 2016. He replaced Sudhindra Dasgupta, the longest-serving chief of the party in Tripura.

His wife Niti is an officer at State Bank of India. The couple has a son and a daughter.

On a few media reports about him being a gym instructor before taking the political plunge, Deb told PTI: "During a television interview, I said I used to visit the gym for exercise, but now I do not get any time for exercise. I am surprised how media reported that I was once a gym instructor."

Deb had on Saturday said he was ready for the top job. "I am ready to take the responsibility. I will not run away from taking any responsibility," he had told reporters in New Delhi and had added that it was up to the party leadership to take a final call.

The BJP demolished the Left citadel in Tripura on Saturday, winning a two-thirds majority with ally IPFT, and ending 25 years of uninterrupted rule of the CPM-led rule in the state.

With inputs from PTI