Politics
BJP’s replacement of Tripura CM with eye on 2023 polls
After Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Karnataka, the BJP has changed its Chief Minister in Tripura, months ahead of the Assembly polls in the Northeastern state, with a view on electoral calculations and gains.
The election to the 60-member Tripura Assembly is due in January-February 2023.
Though the script was written in Delhi, the real drama was played in Agartala to overcome the anti-incumbency factor at least eight to nine months ahead of the crucial Assembly polls, which is expected to be multi-cornered between the CPI-M, the Congress, new entrant Trinamool Congress (TMC), besides the ruling BJP.
A year after the BJP-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) government assumed charge on March 9, 2018, ending the 25-year rule of the Left Front, Tripura has witnessed waves of revolt by dissident BJP MLAs led by Sudip Roy Barman against Biplab Kumar Deb, who also subsequently announced to obtain a people’s mandate by calling a public meeting.
His move was later cancelled following the intervention of the Central BJP leadership.
Amid open resentment by a section of the ruling BJP MLAs and leaders in Tripura, the Cabinet expansion took place on August 31, 2021, by inducting three ministers even as the dissident MLAs and BJP leaders boycotted that swearing-in-ceremony.
The dissidence in May 2019 was sparked off after the State Health and Family Welfare and the Information Technology Minister Roy Barman was sacked following differences with Deb.
Sudip Roy Barman, six other MLAs and many leaders had quit the Congress in 2016 to join the TMC and next year (2017) they joined the BJP and helped it win the Assembly elections in 2018.
However, then, Sudip Roy Barman and Ashis Kumar Saha, who resigned from the state Assembly and the BJP on February 7, 2022, rejoined the Congress in New Delhi on February 8.
Earlier, BJP MLA Ashish Das, after openly criticising the saffron party and its leadership, including Deb, joined the TMC on October 31, 2021, following which he was disqualified from the state Assembly.
Following the tumult, several senior Central BJP leaders on a number of occasions visited Tripura to quell the internal dispute and plug the shortcomings, both in the government and the party organisation.
Political Commentator and Editor of Tripura’s leading English daily “North East Colors”, Sanjib Deb said that it is clear and loud that though removed from the post of Chief Minister, Biplab Kumar Deb is not going to be dumped, rather the steering is going to remain with him.
“After submitting the resignation, Deb told the media that he is going to remain with the party organisation. What is most important is that in the meeting of the BJP Legislature Party on Saturday, Biplab Kumar Deb had proposed the name of Manik Saha while the Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma seconded it,” he said.
He said when Biplab Kumar Deb became the Chief Minister, there were talks in Tripura that the government is the BJP’s, Council of Ministers are from Congress (as most Ministers are from the party) and administration is of the CPI-M (as the officials were recruited during the 25 years of Left Front government).
Political analyst and writer Sekhar Datta said the change of Chief Ministership in Tripura was long overdue.
“BJP has taken the decision to avoid the anti-incumbency issues eight to nine months before the crucial Assembly elections. The BJP retained power in Assam (2021) and Manipur (2022) in the Assembly polls. So retaining power in Tripura in the 2023 polls is a vital issue for the saffron party to keep its aim ‘Congress Mukt Northeast region’.”
Local print and electronic media mostly welcomed the BJP’s decision and criticised Deb’s style of functioning.
Editor of Tripura’s leading vernacular daily ‘Syandan Patrika’, Subal Kumar Dey said he had written in April 2020 about “Deb’s autocratic governance”.
“Only due to Deb’s dictatorial style of work and undemocratic mindset, three BJP MLAs were forced to leave the party weakening the organisation and the government,” Dey.
BJP sources said Biplab Kumar Deb will be Tripura BJP President as the incumbent Manik Saha had to quit the post on becoming the Chief Minister.
RSS loyalist Deb became the state BJP President in January 2016, a year after he returned to the state after spending many years outside it.
Mumbai Press Exclusive News
Nigerian arrested with cocaine in Mumbai

Mumbai: Police has claimed to have arrested a Nigerian with cocaine in the limits of Maloney police station and 180 grams of cocaine have been seized from his possession. Police searched Manuchi Agwa alias Oliver Agwa, 27, during a patrol and recovered cocaine from his possession. Along with the cocaine, a total of Rs 72 lakhs has been seized from the possession of the Nigerian. The police have registered a case under the NDPS Act and started investigation.
Business
Rs 7,253 crore spent so far in 2025-26 on sprucing up railway stations in India: Vaishnaw

New Delhi, Dec 5: The government has spent Rs 7,253 crore so far (up to October), of the total budgetary allocation of Rs 12,118 crore for 2025–26, on the redevelopment of railway stations across the country under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Friday.
The minister stated in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha that work is in progress at a good pace for the development of stations such as Tirupati, Yesvantpur, Rameswaram, and Safdarjung station in Delhi..
So far, 1,337 stations have been identified for development under this scheme since it was launched, of which 155 stations have been completed till now.
Vaishnaw said that the station development projects under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme are primarily conceptualised with budgetary support. However, 15 stations have been identified to be explored for development under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode also and based on the experience gained from the same, further evolution of the scheme is envisaged.
He further stated that the ownership of stations and operations-related activity will be with the Indian Railways. However, for some identified major stations, specific activities or groups of activities may be entrusted to outside sources for specified tenures depending upon the type of activity, requirements of the station, demand, etc. The terms of the contract are decided on a case-by-case basis.
He said that the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for the redevelopment of stations has been launched with a long-term approach.
The scheme involves the preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes improvement of access to the station and circulating areas, integration of the station with both sides of the city, improvement of the station building and improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, and water booths.
The redevelopment plans also include provision of wider foot over bridge or air concourse commensurate with passenger traffic, provision of lifts, escalators and ramps, improvement of platform surface and cover over platforms and provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’.
Besides, the construction of parking areas, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, better passenger information systems, provision of executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings and landscaping is being taken up, keeping in view the necessity at each station, Vaishnaw said.
The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment-friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc., as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of a city centre at the station in the long term, the minister added.
National News
Palghar Illegal Building Collapse: Civic Official Arrested For Failing To Act On Unsafe Structure

Palghar: In a major development nearly three months after the collapse of an illegal residential building that claimed 17 lives, Assistant Commissioner Gilson Gonsalves has been arrested for allegedly failing to take timely action against the dangerous structure.
According to police, Gonsalves, who headed Ward-C of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), did not initiate mandatory action against the unauthorised and unsafe Ramabai Apartment, nor did he file a case under the MRTP Act within the stipulated period. His inaction, officials say, contributed to the scale of the tragedy.
The four-storey Ramabai Apartment, located in Vijay Nagar, Virar (East), collapsed on 26 August 2025 during the Ganesh festival, triggering shock and panic across the city. The incident killed 17 residents and left nine others injured. The building, which contained 50 flats, had deteriorated severely in just a few years.
Investigators revealed that the developer had misled residents into believing the structure was authorised, leading them to continue paying municipal taxes. Following the collapse, police registered a case against builder Nital Sane, the landowner, and three others. Five individuals, including the builder, were arrested, although four have since been granted bail.
Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik had handed the investigation over to Crime Branch Unit-3, which continued to probe municipal lapses. During the inquiry, it emerged that despite the building being declared dangerous, Gonsalves did not ensure the evacuation of residents or pursue legal action against the developer.
As a result, Crime Branch officials registered a case against him and arrested him at around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday night. Although Gonsalves had applied for anticipatory bail in the Vasai court, his plea was rejected.
The arrest marks a significant step in the ongoing probe, as authorities face increasing pressure from residents and activists to hold both builders and civic officials accountable for the region’s growing number of unsafe and unauthorised structures.
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