New chief minister of Tripura seeks PM Hasina's cooperation

Biplab Kumar Deb, the new chief minister of Indian state Tripura, has sought the cooperation of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on bilateral issues. Biplab made the request when he called Sheikh Hasina hours before taking oath as the chief minister of the northeast Indian state on Friday afternoon, prime minister’s Deputy Press Secretary Ashraful Alam Khokan said. The prime minister assured Biplab of her cooperation in response, he added. Biplab was closely associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in his younger days and later became a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). During the recent state assembly election, BJP won 35 of the 60 seats in Tripura. Biplab was made the BJP chief of Tripura state in 2016. Biplab's ancestral home is in Kochua Upazila of Chandpur in Bangladesh. His parents went to Tripura during the Liberation War in 1971. He completed his undergraduate degree in Tripura before going to Delhi for his post-graduate studies. Residents of Kochua rejoiced at the news of Biplab being made chief minister. They celebrated by distributing sweets among relatives and well wishers.  This article was first published on banglatribune.com