No Bengali face to spearhead Congress mission in Tripura

Agartala, Feb 7: The

might be feeling happy that the decision of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo

decided not to contest the

election on February 14 for that could have threatened its vote share and seats in the Left-ruled state, but the absence of the leader who dethroned the 34-year-old Left regime in West Bengal two years ago would also cripple the party strategically.

The Congress would strongly like to see a paribartan (change) occurring in Tripura where the Left has been ruling for two decades now. But the question is: who will spearhead the party, which is terrible fragmented in the state, in the mission?

The party, which also lacks a viable face in Bengal, banked on Mamata to oust the Left there. But in Tripura, it is facing a stiff challenge for there is no leader who can influence the voters here with an appeal.

The elevation of Pranab Mukherjee as the President of India and the absence of Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, a senior Bengali-speaking leader who has fallen seriously ill, has affected the party's campaign in the Bengali-dominated state. Mukherjee had always been a star campaigner for the Congress in Tripura while Dasmunshi was popular for he knew Tripura politics very well.

The Congress top brass is expected to visit Tripura for poll campaigning next week but the trio of Manmohan Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi would find the situation a tough one for the party has been riven with serious squabbles and all leaders of the PCC's tribal department have resigned to contest the polls as Independents.

The infighting in Tripura Congress came out in the open last month when some factions ransacked the party office and poll equipment to protest the decision of not allowing them poll tickets.

The party, however, was still hopeful of giving the Manik Sarkar government a strong fight. The ruling party was unruffled and expressed confidence of winning yet another term.

OneIndia News