Biplab Deb quits as Tripura CM: A look at other BJP chief ministers who resigned before polls

New Delhi, May 14: The BJP has replaced yet another one of its chief ministers, before the end of his tenure in a bid to contain anti-incumbency. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has submitted his resignation to Governor SN Arya.

With the gambit of changing the chief minister just before elections working in its favour in Uttarakhand, the BJP's top brass opted for a similar change in Tripura where polls are due early next year. The BJP has changed five chief ministers since 2019, including in Gujarat and Karnataka.

Saha is also the fourth former Congress leader from the Northeast to become chief minister in the region after joining the BJP, a clear signal that a leader's electoral value is of paramount importance for the party.

Uttarakhand

The first such decision came when Trivendra Singh Rawat was dropped as the Uttarakhand CM after some of his controversial decisions irked people. The reasons for Trivendra Singh's resignation is that the BJP wanted to deflect anti-incumbency and keep the camp united ahead of elections.

Gujarat

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was succeeded by Bhupendra Patel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat has been a BJP fortress since 1995, and goes to polls later this year.

Assam

The BJP leadership changed the general perception and made Himanta Biswa Sarma was as chief minister. Sarma assumed the top post after BJP won the elections with its strategy to go ambiguous during the campaign on who the CM will be.

Karnataka

Reports are rife that the BJP leadership is likely to change Basavaraj Bommai as chief minister ahead of the polls. However, there is no official word from the saffron party.

While changing the chief minister in Karnataka, the saffron party replaced Lingayat stalwart B S Yediyurappa as Karnataka CM with another Lingayat leader Basavaraj S Bommai.

Why BJP changes CM's ahead of polls?

While the opposition has targeted the BJP for removing its chief ministers, political watchers believe the changes highlight the the party leadership's analysis of the ground feedback and its readiness to address them, even though a final word on the shake-up can only be delivered at the elections.

Broadly three factors worked behind all these changes of chief ministers in the last two-three years. These are - "'delivery on the ground, keeping the organisation in good humour and the leader's popularity.

After the BJP was defeated in Jharkhand assembly polls with chief minister Raghubar Das losing his seat, the party realised the need for bringing change in leadership. Within days after the announcement of the results, the BJP brought back its formed leader Babulal Marandi, who had floated his own political outfit.

The recent spate of changes effected by the party in the central government or in states ruled by it has marked a return to more conventional politics with the standard political fault-lines of caste identity pushing the urge to experiment to the background and the BJP has even preferred those leaders who started their career from other political outfits.