Biplab Kumar Deb sworn in as first BJP Chief Minister in Left bastion Tripura

AGARTALA: Biplab Kumar Deb today took oath as chief minister of Tripura, assuming the charge of the first BJP government in the state after ending 25-year rule of the Left Front.

Governor Tathagata Roy also administered the oath of office to BJP leader Jishnu Deb Burman as the deputy chief minister along with seven other ministers, including IPFT chief N C Debbarma.

Agartala: Jishnu Dev Burman takes oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of #Tripura pic.twitter.com/BQ7VTDv96N

— ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2018

The Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) is an ally of the BJP in the northeastern state.

The swearing-in ceremony held at the Assam Rifles ground was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, senior BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

Chief ministers of BJP-ruled states - Vijay Rupani (Gujarat), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Sarbananda Sonowal (Assam), Raghubar Das (Jharkhand) besides others also attended the function.

Outgoing Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar also attended the event.

Giant posters bearing images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah were dominating the landscape in Agartala.

From the airport to the venue, BJP flags lined up both sides of the street, as party workers wearing saffron celebrated in the streets. Security was heightened in the capital city as Prime Minister Modi and other dignitaries attended the ceremony.

From airport to guest houses, personnel of Tripura Police, Tripura State Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force kept a tight vigil. Special commandos from Delhi were also on the job.

Chief ministers of various states streamed in to attend the function, hailing the victory of the party, which decimated 25 years of uninterrupted rule of the CPI (M)-led Left Front government in the northeastern state.

"A 100-ft-long stage was erected for the big function. This is a big day for us as it marks a political transition for the state.The victory has been made possible by the development work of Modiji that has inspired our workers in Tripura to work for a change," BJP general secretary Ram Madhav told PTI here.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the rise of the BJP in Tripura also shows the "fall of the Left" in the country.

#WATCH Agartala: Former Tripura CM Manik Sarkar and PM Narendra Modi meet at swearing ceremony of Biplab Deb and others pic.twitter.com/89QtBYkeVm

— ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2018

"Red has been replaced (with saffron) in Tripura. Left is losing its ideology in the country and its support base is eroding. The new government firmed here is an endorsement of the vision of Modiji and the popularity that he enjoys," he said.

"I have come from one end of the country to the other for the ceremony, passing by many BJP states. Change will happen more as we progress ahead," he added.

The sprawling Assam Rifles ground hosted the grand swearing-in function.

Earlier in the month, the BJP and its ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) scripted history in the assembly election by ending the 25-year reign of the Left Front-led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), with a two-thirds majority in the Tripura legislative assembly elections.

The BJP won 35 of the 59 seats that went to polls in Tripura, ousting the CPI(M) which won only in 17 assembly constituencies.