Tripura's Marxist chief minister to campaign in West Bengal polls

Agartala, April 19: CPI-M politburo member Manik Sarkar, who is also the chief minister of India's only Left-ruled state Tripura, left for Kolkata on Tuesday to campaign for the party candidates contesting in the ongoing West Bengal assembly elections.

"Sarkar will address several election rallies in North 24-Parganas and Hooghly districts on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday," a leader of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) told IANS.

Manik Sarkar, who had already campaigned for the Left parties' candidates seeking election to the Assam assembly, would also campaign later in Kerala and Tamil Nadu where asse,bly elections are being held.

The 68-year-old communist leader who has been the, chief minister of Tripura for more than 18 years, is the only Marxist leader campaigning for the Left parties in four of the five poll-bound states while the other top CPI-M leaders are campaigning in one or two states.

IANS