Agartala:
BJP MLA Dibachandra Hrangkhawal resigned from the assembly on Wednesday, becoming the seventh legislator from the ruling coalition in the state to step down this year.
Mr Hrangkhawal, a tribal MLA from Karamcherra in Dhalai, cited personal reasons for his resignation months ahead of parliamentary elections in the state.
“Today I submitted my resignation as MLA to the secretary of the assembly as speaker Ratan Chakraborty was not present. I resigned for personal reasons,” he told reporters.
Mr Hrangkhawal, who was the Speaker of the State Congress, switched to the BJP just before the 2018 parliamentary elections.
“I have not yet decided on my next action, but will obviously remain in politics as I am a political person,” he said.
Mr Hrangkhawal was accompanied to the meeting by State Congress leader Asish Kumar Saha, who had resigned as BJP MLA earlier this year.
With this, the BJP lost four of its MLAs this year. In addition to Saha, lawmakers Sudip Roy Barman and Burbo Mohan Tripura also resigned earlier this year. Surma constituency MLA Asish Das was disqualified for his alleged misconduct.
The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), part of the BJP-led government, also lost three of its MLAs: Dhananjoy Tripura, Brishaketu Debbarma and Mevar Kumar Jamatia. Dhananjoy Tripura and Mevar Kumar Jamatia’s resignations were accepted by the speaker, but Brishaketu was disqualified for “procedural error”.
BJP spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty told PTI that Hrangkhawal was ill for a long time and unable to perform his duties.
“This will not affect the party’s prospects in subsequent parliamentary elections,” he claimed.
The BJP has 34 MLAs in its 60-member assembly, while ally IPFT has five. The opposition Congress has one MLA and CPI(M) has 15 legislators, while five seats are vacant.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured video of the day
PM Modi’s mother, 99, admitted in Ahmedabad
