After Chhattisgarh, Tripura Congress splits; six MLAs join Trinamul

New Delhi: Trouble is escalating in the Congress at a time attempts are being made to sideline senior leaders who are trying to ensure they can hold on to their positions even if there is a change at the top, with Rahul Gandhi taking charge. On Tuesday, the party got a major jolt as six MLAs in Tripura quit and joined Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul.

This is the third big setback for the Congress in the last few days, after former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi walked out to float his own outfit, and AICC general secretary Gurudas Kamat said he was quitting and leaving active politics in the backdrop of internal splits in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Congress leadership appears confused on what kind of strategy to pursue or corrective steps it must take after a series of defeats in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and JandK.

In Tripura, six rebel Congress MLAs led by former Opposition leader Sudip Roy Burman submitted a letter to Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath saying they were quitting the party and joining TMC.

With this, the TMC becomes the main Opposition party. Mr Burman and three of the MLAs were present as the letter was handed over to the Speaker, while the other two spoke to him on the phone.

MLAs were angry over ties with Left
Mr Burman and three of the MLAs were present as the letter was handed over to the Speaker, while the other two, saying they were unwell, spoke to him on the phone.

Speaker Debnath confirmed that he had got the letter and that he would review the MLAs’ plea. Mr Burman has been elected leader of the TMC legislature group in the Assembly, and is expected to stake claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition. Tripura is the fourth state after Arunachal, Assam and Meghalaya where the Congress has been hit by dissidence.

Another dissident Congress MLA, Jiten Sarkar, who has resigned from the Assembly, has said he wants to join the ruling CPI(M), CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar said. The Congress rebels said they resigned over the party’s decision to partner the Left in the West Bengal elections.

The central leadership is keeping a close watch on moves by top party leaders in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Karnataka.  With the buzz growing on the rise of Generation Next, a guessing game has begun in party circles on whether veterans would remain silent if they were marginalised.