Just ahead of the February-16 assembly elections, ruling BJP suffered a jolt as one more legislator of the party, Dr Atul Debbarma resigned from the Tripura Assembly and the party on Monday.

Debbarma, a physician-turned-politician, however, submitted his nomination papers on Monday in the Krishnapur assembly constituency in Khowai district as an Independent.

Debbarma along with six other sitting BJP MLAs were dropped from the list of party nominations for the 2023 assembly elections. The ruling BJP this time nominated Bikash Debbarma in the Krishnapur assembly seat. Out of the total of 60 assembly constituencies, BJP has fielded candidates in 55 seats while its ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) fielded candidates in the remaining five seats.

Atul Debbarma, who is the 6th BJP MLAs and 9th legislator of the BJP-IPFT alliance, quit the assembly and their respective parties in 2021.

Sources said that Dr Debbarma was dropped from the candidates' list and none was informed of him yet.

Dr Debbarma said that in 2018,  he resigned from the Delhi government health services and joined BJP and was elected to the assembly from the Krishnapur assembly constituency.

He said that due to the tremendous pressure of his supporters and followers, he had to quit the BJP and submit his nomination as an Independent.

Earlier BJP MLAs Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl, Burba Mohan Tripura, Ashish Das, Sudip Roy Barman and Ashish Kumar Saha and IPFT MLAs -- Mevar Kumar Jamatia, Brishaketu Debbarma and Dhananjoy Tripura resigned from the party and the assembly after open differences with the ruling parties and the government.