INDI alliance unlikely to remain functional in Tripura panchayat polls , Asish Saha gives signal

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, July 9, 2024

The INDI alliance which brought together the traditional rivals of Tripura politics, Congress and the CPI (M) on a single political platform in the last assembly election, twin by-elections to the Boxanagar and Dhanpur assembly constituencies as well as in the 18th loksabha polls may not be functional in the upcoming statewide panchayat polls. Senior Congress leader and MLA Sudip Roybarman had given this indication earlier but the PCC president Asish Saha was more or less explicit on the issue of the alliance ceasing in his discourse before the leaders and workers of Congress in Sabroom yesterday.

Saha is currently on a tour of the state to revitalize the party organization keeping an eye on the upcoming panchayat polls and yesterday he was in Sabroom. In a meeting held in the residence of local Congress leader Sankar Malla the PCC president Asish Kumar Saha directed party workers to prepare for a fight in the panchayat polls on their own. The meeting was attended by Belonia district committee secretary Mridul Patari, PCC general secretary Milan Kar and Sabroom block Congress president Manoranjan Datta and others. Asish Saha informed party leaders and workers present in the meeting that the PCC has decided to put up candidates for all the gram panchayat, panchayat samity and zilla parishad seats in the Satchand and Poangbari blocks in Sabroom subdivision.

He also said that the Congress will contest all the seats of pancayats, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads in the whole on its own and asked party leaders to select candidates at the local level. He also castigated the ruling BJP for reducing all elections in the state to a farce ever since it had come to power in 2018 and asked party workers to resist the electoral malpractice of BJP with support from people. However , sources in the Congress said that despite the stand taken by the leadership here about going it all alone in the polls the party’s central leadership which is in constant touch with the CPI (M) in Delhi may ultimately put pressure on the PCC to forge an alliance for the upcoming panchayat polls also.