Agartala, Nov 4 — The prospects of the Congress and the CPI (M) contesting the November 27 civic elections in Tripura jointly under the INDIA bloc banner appear uncertain amid differences over seat-sharing and the unilateral announcement of candidates by the Left party.
Congress Working Committee member Sudip Roy Barman criticised the CPI (M) for announcing its candidates on November 2 without holding proper discussions with the Congress, describing the move as an expression of arrogance and prejudice.
Roy Barman, a former minister and a sitting MLA, said that the Congress was a century-old national party and could not be treated like the CPI (M)'s other Left partners, including the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Forward Bloc, Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI (ML).
He expressed displeasure over the CPI (M)’s unilateral decision to announce candidates without reaching an understanding with the Congress, indicating that such an approach could undermine the prospects of an electoral understanding between the two parties. The Congress also on Wednesday announced its candidates for all 51 seats in the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC).
Meanwhile, CPI (M) Tripura state Secretary and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jitendra Chaudhury maintained that discussions with the Congress were still underway and that the possibility of a joint contest had not been ruled out.
Chaudhury said that he had held discussions with Roy Barman and Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee President Asish Kumar Saha over seat-sharing arrangements. He said that the principal objective of the two parties was to prevent the BJP from gaining any political advantage in the forthcoming civic elections.
Acknowledging that some candidates had already filed nomination papers separately, Chaudhury said that the discussions between the two parties would continue. He pointed out that November 6 was the last date for filing nomination papers, while November 10 was the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
Chaudhury expressed hope that the Congress and the CPI (M) would reach an understanding within the stipulated period and contest the elections jointly.
The contrasting statements by the two alliance partners have, however, raised questions over the unity of the INDIA bloc in Tripura ahead of the crucial civic polls.
Meanwhile, the ruling BJP, after obtaining approval from its central leadership in New Delhi, announced 45 candidates for the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Tuesday night, dropping sitting Mayor Dipak Majumder, who is also an MLA.
The party’s core committee has finalised candidates for the elections to all 21 civic bodies. So far, 45 candidates for the AMC have been cleared, while the names of the remaining six candidates will be announced shortly, Tripura BJP president Abhishek Debroy said.
Debroy told the media that the party had decided not to renominate Majumder for the civic elections as he was currently representing the Ramnagar Assembly constituency in West Tripura district as an MLA.
“The BJP adheres to its core ideology of ‘one leader, one post’. An MLA has responsibilities towards the people of his constituency. The party will contest the elections highlighting the good work done by Majumder as the AMC Mayor,” he said.