Tripura Bypoll: Congress at odds over CPIM’s 'unilateral' candidate announcement

In an unexpected turn of events, the Tripura CPIM's announcement of candidates for the upcoming by-elections has ignited a wave of discord as the Pradesh Congress Committee has expressed its disappointment, claiming that the move was made without prior consultation and discussions among opposition parties.

The by-elections are scheduled to take place in the Boxanagar and Dhanpur Assembly constituencies situated in Tripura's Sepahijala district on September 5. 

Ahead of this crucial event, key opposition political parties including CPIM, Congress, and TIPRA Motha convened a meeting to deliberate on their strategies.

Also read : Tripura BJP to announce candidates' names for by-polls on August 16

While Congress and TIPRA Motha have opted to maintain suspense by withholding the release of their candidates' lists, CPIM, on the other hand, has taken an early leap by declaring their chosen candidates.
Nonetheless, the swift and unilateral declaration of candidates by CPIM has triggered an outcry within the opposition camp. 

Asish Kumar Saha, the President of Pradesh Congress Committee, has reacted strongly on this. He said that the CPIM's decision seemed hasty and devoid of careful consideration. 

Saha stressed the importance of taking the time to thoroughly deliberate and consider all perspectives before making such significant announcements.

"The CPIM has declared the names of its candidates for the assembly seats. Personally, I believe that the CPIM declared their candidates' names hastily. They could have taken more time to think it through. It would have been better if the decision was based on everyone's opinion. Nonetheless, we have conveyed all these concerns to our high command, and we will take the next steps based on their directions. In the recently held meeting, it was decided to unite and fight against the BJP, but the CPIM didn't engage in any discussion before announcing the candidates' names," stated Asish.