BJP MLA Atul Debbarma and chief of the party’s doctors’ cell Tomojit Nath, who were denied seat, resigned from the party on Monday, the last day of filing papers for the Assembly elections in Tripura. Party’s State committee member Ranjan Sinha and scores of disgruntled party functionaries too quit the saffron party.
Dr. Debbarma also submitted his resignation from the Assembly. The resignation of the former RSS activist, who was associated with the Sangh’s Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, came as a surprise to many.
“I will remain independent for now, but will soon decide my future course of action”, Dr. Debbarma told newsmen. A medical doctor by profession, Dr. Debbarma was working in Delhi and returned to Tripura to contest the 2018 Assembly elections as a BJP nominee.
He won from the Krishnapur constituency in Khowai district, defeating the CPI(M) rival. He is one of the seven MLAs the BJP has denied nomination in the coming Assembly elections.
BJP MLA Mimi Majumder, who left the teaching profession to contest from the Badharghat constituency, was also denied nomination. She has not participated in any election programme since the candidate list was announced.
Dr. Tomojit Nath, a prominent political face in north Tripura, on Monday resigned from the party along with several party functionaries. He was an aspirant for the Jubarajnagar constituency in the Dharmanagar subdivision.
Reports of resignations of BJP workers, protests and vandalising of party offices have been reported from various places. BJP’s State committee member and former north district committee president Ranjan Sinha resigned from the party to protest the nomination of Tinku Roy in the Chandipur constituency.
He subsequently joined the TIPRA (Tipraha Indigenous Peoples Regional Alliance) and became its candidate at Chandipur. TIPRA is contesting in 42 seats, including 20 tribal reserved seats.
Stalemate continues
Meanwhile, after a series of deliberations, the Congress and CPI(M) leaders failed to reach a consensus over seat-sharing. The Congress fielded 16 candidates, one short of its declared list.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front had allotted 13 seats to the Congress, but the latter demanded four more and ultimately published a list of 17 candidates. Forty-seven Left Front candidates had earlier submitted their nominations.
Congress leader and former Health Minister Sudip Roy Barman, however, softened his stance and said the alliance was important to restore democracy in Tripura. Informed sources said senior leaders of the both parties were trying to resolve the differences and give a proper shape to the Opposition alliance.
Monday was the last day to submit nomination papers. BJP leader and Chief Minister Manik Saha and Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Debbarman, Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, Congress leaders Sudip Roy Barman and Ashish Kumar Saha, and TIPRA’s Purna Chandra Jamatia are the prominent figures who submitted their papers during the day.
Chief Minister Dr. Saha offered poojas at six temples before submitting the nomination after taking out a rally, also attended by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb attended the party’s nomination rally at Dharmanagar in north Tripura.