Agartala: Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Birajit Sinha has said the Pradesh Congress wants leaders like Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Saha to lead from the front and contest the by-elections to be held later this year.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a meeting organized at Congress Bhavan on Tuesday, Sinha said the Congress would make positive efforts to forge an anti-BJP alliance once the poll schedule is declared.
It may be mentioned that the return of leaders like Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Saha into the Congress has breathed a new life into the grand old party.
Moreover, whether both Roy Barman and Saha will take the risk to fight the by-polls from their home turf is also the talk of the town right now.
An optimistic Sinha said, “The final decision on the candidates will be taken by the AICC. The PCC will propose some names for the constituencies that are slated to go for polls. We are organizing regular workers’ meetings in different parts of the state to ensure that the Congress can restore its organizational base in Tripura.”
Sudip Roy Barman, an ex-minister in Biplab Kumar Deb cabinet, and his close confidante Asish Kumar Saha recently left the saffron party after spearheading a revolt against CM Deb for years that ultimately went in vain. After being dropped from the state cabinet, Barman and Saha resigned as BJP MLAs from the state assembly as well as surrendered their primary membership of the party.
Meanwhile, as a part of the party’s national programme, Congress workers will meet in a deputation in the office of Director General of Tripura Police.
Sinha said, “The law and order situation has stooped to a new low. The prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing. In line with the national programme, Tripura Congress is also taking part in the protests.”
AICC Secretary and in-charge of Tripura Szaritha Laitphlang, on the other hand, alleged that wherever people tried to express their dissent, they faced threats and intimidation.
“Motorcycle-borne miscreants are launching attacks on common people. This is the right time to give a befitting reply. I want to urge everyone to come forward and fight back,” she said.
On the organizational front, she said, “The Congress is reaching out to people in different parts of the state and is getting overwhelming responses. In the days to come, the Congress will certainly leave its mark.”
On being asked about any possibilities of pre-poll understanding with other political parties, the PCC president said, “Once the polls are declared, we shall surely initiate talks with parties that have the common goal of BJP’s ouster from Tripura.”
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