Agartala, Aug 25 (IANS): BJP President J.P.Nadda on Thursday appointed party's Tripura unit Vice President Rajiv Bhattacharjee as President of the state committee.

BJP national General Secretary Arun Singh, in a statement, announced the appointment of Bhattacharjee, 52, who will replace Chief Minister Manik Saha.

Saha, who became the BJP's Tripura state president in January 2020, has been holding the party post even after assuming office of the Chief Minister on May 15, a day after Biplab Kumar Deb was removed from the top post by the central leaders without citing any reason.

Both Saha and Deb congratulated Bhattacharjee, who is close to Deb, who was also the state BJP President for five years before Saha.

The decision came a day after Saha and Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma held a key meeting in Guwahati on Wednesday with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and central BJP leaders to chalk out the strategy for the Tripura polls, slated for early next year.