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BJP’s replacement of Tripura CM with eye on 2023 polls

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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.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Waqf Board approached the Tribunal regarding extension of date, don’t worry, 100% registration is assured: Chairman Sameer Qazi

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Aurangabad: (F.A.) The last date for registration on the UMID portal for all registered waqf organisations in Maharashtra, including mosques, dargahs and graveyards, was today, December 5, 2025, which has now expired. Although most of the waqf organisations in Maharashtra have been registered on the portal, some organisations are still missing out due to unavailability of records or other paper errors. In view of this situation, Maharashtra State Waqf Board President Sameer Qazi has appealed to the concerned trustees, trustees and the Muslim community not to panic or believe in any rumours. He has confidently said that: The Waqf Board will complete the registration of every institution. Although the Supreme Court has refused to extend the date, it has allowed the Waqf Tribunal (Waqf Court). The State Waqf Board has approached the tribunal and we are confident that justice will be done there and the deadline for registration on the UMID portal will definitely be extended. Chairman Qazi expressed his firm resolve and further said that the board will not sit in a hurry without the registration of every Waqf institution in the state being completed.

Maharashtra ranks second in the country: 80 percent registration completed.

The registration of all organizations related to the Waqf Board has been completed at a fast pace on the UMID portal. The state of Maharashtra ranks second in the country in terms of registration of Waqf institutions. There are a total of 36 thousand registered Waqf properties in Maharashtra, out of which about 30 thousand (80 percent) properties of organizations have been successfully registered on the UMID portal. All the officers and staff of the Waqf Board have made additional arrangements and completed the registration process. Not only this, but 300 young technicians were hired at the Hajj House in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar to expedite registration on the Omid portal, which is a commendable effort by the board.

Waqf Tribunal issues urgent notice to the central government, seeks response by December 10
Immediately after the Supreme Court’s direction, the Maharashtra Waqf Board approached the Waqf Tribunal. The tribunal has issued a notice to the central government while hearing the matter urgently. The notice asks the centre: “Why should the deadline not be extended?” and has directed it to file its reply by December 10. Due to this urgent action and notice by the tribunal, there is a strong possibility of an extension in the deadline, which has brought a big relief to the waqf institutions.

Don’t pay attention to rumors, time has not been extended.

A statement by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju was circulating on TV and social media throughout the day today, in which he said that although the trustees have not received any relief, there is hope of getting an extension in time from the tribunal. He also said that no penalty will be imposed on the institutions that approach the tribunal. President Sameer Qazi, while explaining this statement, said: The Minister has not extended the time for uploading on the portal, but has only set a time of three months for checker and approval for those institutions that have already been registered. He explained that false news about the extension in time is being spread on social media, so do not be fooled by any kind of hesitation and until the official extension is done, the institutions must complete the uploading process.

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Business

IndiGo Crisis: 75-Yr-Old Woman Waits Hours For Luggage Without Medicines At Mumbai T2 Airport

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Mumbai, Dec 05: When IndiGo’s nationwide operational meltdown began disrupting flights earlier this week, thousands of passengers were caught in chaos across the country. Among them was a 75-year-old woman whose ordeal at Mumbai’s Terminal 2 gained attention after her daughter shared a distressed post on X. Thankfully, the woman has now reached home safely, but her experience reflects the scale of frustration travellers are facing.

In her post on X, Punita Toraskar wrote that her elderly mother had been waiting at T2 since noon, and even by 4:42 pm, she still hadn’t received her luggage. The situation was more alarming because the 75-year-old needed to take her medicines but was stuck waiting on an empty stomach, stranded amid the airport chaos.

Toraskar’s post quickly resonated with passengers across India who have been struggling with severe delays, cancellations, and a complete breakdown of communication from India’s largest airline.

IndiGo is currently grappling with one of the biggest operational crises in its history. Nearly 900 flights have been cancelled since Tuesday, triggered by a mix of staff shortages and the airline’s struggle to adapt to stringent new crew duty regulations.

Passengers at major airports — Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata — are facing hours-long queues, mounting delays, and skyrocketing airfares as alternative flight options shrink. Hotels are filling up, tempers are rising, and social media is flooded with frustration.

IndiGo has issued public apologies and claims it is rebooting its systems and schedules to stabilise operations. But for many travellers like Toraskar’s mother, the damage is already done.

Despite the turmoil, Punita confirmed later that her mother had finally reached home safely, a small relief in a week of aviation chaos.

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Mumbai Press Exclusive News

Nigerian arrested with cocaine in Mumbai

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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.

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