Agartala, Aug 2: The Congress party in Tripura, notorious for infighting within the party, is once again embroiled in an ugly power struggle between veteran Congress leader Birjit Sinha’s loyalists and newly appointed PCC chief Ashish Saha.
However, both groups are avoiding the issue for now. But the internal strife in the Pradesh Congress reached its peak. New PCC chief Ashish Saha’s influence in the organization has seen his predecessor and MLA Birjit Sinha mingling with BJP party leaders and ministers.
Party sources claim that Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman and his close confidante Ashish Kumar Saha are the new strongmen of the Congress. On the other hand, MLAs Gopal Roy and Birjit Sinha are losing their hold in the party.
They both deserve respect. Not only because they were elected to the state assembly, but also because of their unwavering loyalty to the party. While others saw the party’s decline and jumped ship for bigger posts and positions, both of them stayed with the Congress even at its most critical times, sources said.
Another leader of the party said that the AICC also ignored the voices of dissent. “AICC in-charge of Tripura Dr. Ajay Kumar made regular visits to Tripura during the elections. He was the most vociferous voice against the Tripura government and the ruling BJP. But, after the election, he completely forgot about the state. He kept in touch only with the state president. On several occasions, the former party president did not even give credit to crisis soldiers who were keeping the Congress relevant through their programs and pointing out the government’s flaws, the leader added.
Sources claim that after the 2023 Assembly elections, a large section of Congress supporters in the state shifted their allegiance to the BJP because they are politically alienated or alienated by the rise of BJP.