Sudip resents CPI (M)’s unilateral declaration of nomination for Dharma Nagar by-poll , Congress to file nomination also

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, March 13, 2026

Senior Congress leader and sitting party MLA Sudip Roybarman has expressed serious resentment over the unilateral declaration of nomination for upcoming by-election to the Dharma Nagar assembly constituency by the C PI (M). The CPI (M) leadership declared their nomination of previous three-time party MLA (1993-2003) and senior leader Amitava Datta for the Dharma Nagar by-election without any consultation with the Congress that had fought the 2023 assembly election in Dharma Nagar . Amitava Datta is also intensively campaigning for the by-election all over the constituency.

Having maintained a studied silence over the issue for the past few days the state Congress leadership , presumably with prior approval obtained from the party high command, has now reacted to the issue . Senior party leader Sudip Roybarman vented his party’s ire over the C PI (M)’s unilateral decision in a conversation with media persons in the state assembly. “We had fought the Dharma Nagar seat in alliance with the CPI (M) in 2023 and this time in the by-election also we were preparing to contest this seat but the CPI (M) have made a unilateral announcement without any consultation with this ; they should have remembered that in the earlier by-elections to Boxanagar, Dhanpur and Ram Nagar assembly constituencies we had unconditionally supported them on the basis of an unwritten understanding” said Sudip .

He asserted that Congress will now put up their own candidate in the Dharma Nagar by-election where the party ostensibly has a strong base. “We are in the process of selecting a panel of names which will be finalised by the party high command and very shortly we will announce our candidate” said Sudip. As of now it is therefore quite likely that the upcoming by-election to Dharma Nagar will see a truly triangular contest involving the ruling BJP, CPI (M) and the Congress. Sudip did not name the possible candidature but sources in the Congress said that senior leader Chayan Bhattacharjee who contested the Dharma Nagar seat as Congress candidate in 2023 will be renominated as party candidate in the by-election also.

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