Tripura Congress to raise Old Pension Scheme as main campaign issue

New Delhi: After the Congress and Left decided to withdraw candidates against each other in Tripura, the Congress is set to raise the Old Pension Scheme as its main campaign issue. Incidentally, this was the Congress’ main plank in the recent Himachal Pradesh elections, which it won. The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) was a game-changer for the Congress in the Himachal Assembly polls. The party had promised it in its manifesto and also announced it at the first Cabinet meeting. The other two Congress-ruled states —Rajasthan and Chattisgarh — are already implementing the scheme.

Many leaders in several states have also started demanding the restoration of the OPS.

Ahead of the deadline to withdraw nominations, the Left Front on Wednesday announced that it was taking back its candidates from the 13 constituencies allotted to the Congress as part of the seat-sharing formula, but would not give up any more. The Left Front has now pulled out from 12 seats left originally for the Congress, plus swapped a seat between them. It is also believed to have made it clear to the Congress that there was no question of giving it the extra constituencies it was eyeing.

Meanwhile, the state unit of Tripura Congress is taking no chances and wants senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to campaign in the state. Tripura in-charge Ajoy Kumar said, “There has been major misgovernance in the state during the BJP rule. It is now time for a change and change will happen. We are putting our best foot forward in the state.” At present, the party is preparing its manifesto and is set to release it soon.