Ram Pada Jamatia Elected Unopposed as Tripura Assembly Speaker

Agartala: Senior BJP legislator Ram Pada Jamatia was on Wednesday elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly, filling a vacancy created by the death of former Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen in December last year.

Acting Speaker Ram Prasad Paul announced in the House that Jamatia was the sole candidate to have filed nomination papers, and was accordingly declared elected.

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The ruling BJP, along with its allies — the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) — had proposed Jamatia's name on March 12, following which he filed his nomination for the post.

The Speaker's position fell vacant after Biswa Bandhu Sen, a four-time MLA, passed away on December 26 last year at the age of 72. Sen had been undergoing medical treatment at a private hospital in Bengaluru for over four and a half months before his death.

Following the announcement, Chief Minister Manik Saha, Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury, Congress Legislature Party leader and former Minister Birajit Sinha, TMP and IPFT leaders, Chief Whip Kalyani Saha Roy, and other legislators escorted Jamatia to the Speaker's chair.

Jamatia becomes only the second tribal leader to serve as Speaker of the Tripura Assembly since the state attained full statehood in 1972. The first was Sudhanwa Debbarma, who held the post from 1978 to 1983.

The 69-year-old leader represents the Bagma Assembly constituency in Gomati district and has been a two-time MLA, winning elections in both 2018 and 2023.

Jamatia joined the BJP in 2017 after retiring from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Earlier in his career, he worked at the Tripura Jute Mill.

He previously served as Minister of Tribal Welfare and Industry and Commerce — covering Handloom, Handicrafts, and Sericulture — from 2022 to 2023.

The Budget session of the Tripura Assembly, which began on March 13 with Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu's address to the House, has seen several significant developments.

Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy on March 16 presented a tax-free deficit budget of Rs 34,212.31 crore for the financial year 2026-27. The budget earmarks higher allocations for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), ahead of crucial polls for the 30-member tribal body scheduled for April 13.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath also announced the introduction of three bills in the Assembly to establish new institutions — Tripura Women's University, Tripura University of Health Sciences, and Tripura Technical University.

The Budget session is scheduled to continue until March 25.