Pratima Bhoumik, Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, resigned from the legislative assembly of Tripura on Wednesday, which she won in the recently concluded elections, reports said. This comes just a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of legislators.
Taking to Twitter, Bhoumik said that she was proud to be a “daughter” of Dhanpur and that she was “indebted” to the city forever. In a series of tweets, she narrated how she contested and won the Lok Sabha seat from West Tripura and “went to the world's largest Panchayat Sangsad” when she was given the responsibility of a Union State Minister.
She also elaborated on how the BJP leadership gave her the opportunity to contest the assembly elections again this year from Dhanpur. “In 2023, with the blessings of the central leadership, I get an opportunity to contest the assembly elections again, that too in my Dhanpur constituency. You have blessed me with both hands in Dhanpur as you did in the other Assembly of Tripura. Some Dhanpur residents love me as their aunt, some as their daughter,” she said, adding that her victory from the seat was “the victory of the people of Dhanpur…of my homeland”.
“Today, I am resigning from the seat of MLA from the Dhanpur assembly constituency again on the order of the central leadership,” she wrote.
Bhoumik was the first non-Left MLA to represent the Dhanpur assembly seat in Tripura in the last 50 years. The BJP allowed her to contest the elections despite being an elected MP and minister of state. She was also a prime contender for the chief ministerial role in Tripura but lost the race to Manik Saha. Today was her final day to make a decision between her post as an MP and MLA as no person can hold positions in the state assembly as well as the parliament.
“Even as I resign from the post of MLA, I am by your side, I am with you, I will remain with you. Let's all build the best Dhanpur, the best Tripura. Once again my obeisance to every god of Dhanpur,” Bhoumik concluded.
Her resignation has reduced BJP’s strength in the 60-member Tripura assembly to 31, paving way for another bye-election.
