Manik Sarkar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member ofPolit Bureau, Communist Party of India (Marxist) | |
| In office 11 October 1998 – 6 April 2025 | |
| Leader of the Opposition in Tripura | |
| In office 9 March 2018 – 2 March 2023 | |
| Governor | |
| Preceded by | Ratan Lal Nath |
| Succeeded by | Animesh Debbarma |
| Chief Minister of Tripura | |
| In office 11 March 1998 – 8 March 2018 | |
| Governor | |
| Preceded by | Dasarath Deb |
| Succeeded by | Biplab Kumar Deb |
| Tripura State Secretary of theCPI(M) | |
| In office 1993–1998 | |
| Member of Legislative Assembly,Tripura | |
| In office March 1998 – 2 March 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Samar Choudhury |
| Succeeded by | Pratima Bhowmik |
| Constituency | Dhanpur |
| In office 1983–1988 | |
| Preceded by | Ajoy Biswas |
| Succeeded by | Bibhu Kumari Devi |
| Constituency | Agartala |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-01-22)22 January 1949 (age 77) |
| Party | CPI(M) |
| Spouse | Panchali Bhattacharya |
| Cabinet | Fourth Sarkar ministry |
Manik Sarkar (born 22 January 1949) is an Indiancommunist politician who served as theChief Minister of Tripura from March 1998 to March 2018. He is aPolitburo member of theCommunist Party of India (Marxist).[1][2] In March 2008, he was sworn in as leader ofLeft Front, the Tripura coalition government.[3] In assembly elections held in 2013, he became the chief minister for the fourth consecutive time. He served as theLeader of the Opposition in theTripura Legislative Assembly from 2018 to 2023.
Manik Sarkar was born into a middle-classBengali Kayastha family.[4][5] His father, Amulya Sarkar, worked as a tailor, while his mother, Anjali Sarkar, was a State and later Provincialgovernment employee.[6] Sarkar became active in student movements in his student days, and in 1968, at the age of 19, he became a member of theCommunist Party of India (Marxist). He was a candidate of theStudents' Federation of India throughout his academic life atMBB College, from where he graduated with a B. Com. degree.[7] During his first year at the college there came the turbulent times of the food movement of 1967, campaigning against the policy of the then Congress government of Tripura, and Sarkar threw himself headlong into the related student struggle. His vigorous role in this mass movement led him to join the Communists.[8] Due to his early political exposure, he also became the General Secretary of the MBB College Student Union and was also made the Vice President of theStudents' Federation of India. In 1972, at the early age of 23, he joined the State Committee of theCommunist Party of India (Marxist).[7]
In 1978, six years after being selected in theCPI (M) State Committee, Sarkar was included in the party state secretariat. This was also the year when the firstLeft Front government had taken control inTripura.
In 1980, at the age of 31, he was elected as theMember of the Legislative Assembly from theAgartala constituency. This was the start of Manik Sarkar's leadership in his state.[9] Around the same time, he was appointed theChief Whip of theCPI (M). In 1983, he was again elected to the Assembly asMLA fromKrishnanagar, Agartala.[4] When the Left Front government took control in 1993, Sarkar was appointed the State Secretary of theCPI (M).
The biggest success came to Sarkar in 1998. At the age of 49, he became a member of thePolitburo of theCPI (M), which is the principal policy-making and executive committee in aCommunist party.[9][10] In the same year, he became theChief Minister of the state ofTripura. Since then, he was elected to the same position four consecutive times in 20 years.[9] He is one of the very few chief Ministers in India who was in the office for so long. His party lost majority in the2018 elections and he had to step down as a result.
It was noted that Sarkar did not contest the2023 elections. He revealed that he had done so in order to pave way for younger leadership.
Sarkar is married to Panchali Bhattacharya, who was employed with the Central Social Welfare Board till she retired in 2011. He chooses to live in an old and a very small house that belonged to his great grandfather. He used to donate his entire salary that he received as aChief Minister to his party and in return, got₹ 5,000 per month as allowance.[11][12][13][14]
| Year | Constituency | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Opponent Party | Opponent Votes | % | Result | Margin | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Dhanpur | CPI(M) | 22,176 | 54.43 | Pratima Bhoumik | BJP | 16,735 | 41.08 | Won | 5,441 | 13.35 | ||
| 2013 | 21,286 | 57.1 | Shah Alam | INC | 15,269 | 40.96 | Won | 6,017 | 16.14 | ||||
| 2008 | 17,992 | 52.91 | 15,074 | 44.32 | Won | 2,918 | 8.59 | ||||||
| 2003 | 15,613 | 55.85 | Dipak Chakraborty | 11,111 | 39.74 | Won | 4,502 | 16.11 | |||||
| 1998 | 12,771 | 53.9 | Majibur Islam Majumder | 9,668 | 40.81 | Won | 3,103 | 13.09 | |||||
| 1988 | Agartala | 12,695 | 49.4 | Maharani Bidhu Kumari Debi | 12,776 | 49.72 | Lost | -81 | -0.32 | ||||
| 1983 | 10,623 | 52.18 | Promode Ranjandas Gupta | 9,485 | 46.59 | Won | 1,138 | 5.59 | |||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief Minister of Tripura 12 December 1998 – 9 March 2018 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
