Popularly known as 'Manik Da' among his partymen and others, he was known as a firebrand leader here since early 1970s who espoused popular causes.
Born at Udaipur in South Tripura on Jan 22, 1949, in a lower middle-class family, Sarkar's father Amulya Sarkar was a tailor and his mother Anjali Sarkar was an employee of the state health department. His wife Panchali Bhatacherjee was an officer of the central social welfare department.
Chief minister since 1998, Sarkar, who has a bachelor of commerce degree from Calcutta University, is known as a honest man with a spartan lifestyle.
"His realistic thinking and approach made him a commonly acceptable leader among the middle-aged Communists in the state," said Samiran Roy, a close friend of Sarkar and editor of a leading local daily Tripura Darpan.
"Manik was the closest follower of Tripura's first Left chief minister Nripen Chakraborty (1978-1988), a father figure of the Communist movement of Tripura. Thus he follows the life-style of Nripen da, a versatile genius," Roy told IANS
Sarkar, the second longest serving chief minister in the northeastern region too after Gegong Apang of the Congress who ruled Arunachal Pradesh for 24 years over two periods (1980-99 and 2003-07), succeeded Dasratha Deb (1993-1998), another founder of the Left base in Tripura along with Nripen Chakraborty.
