AGARTALA, April 4 � In a serious jolt to the anti-Left vote bank, Congress and its long-term ally Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) have announced to separately contest the Tribal Council elections in the State.
The INPT has already declared its candidates for the upcoming Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), scheduled to be held on May 3.
�We will field candidates in all 28 seats of the TTAADC election since talks between Congress and INPT have failed to yield any fruitful result,� said Rabindra Debbarma, general secretary of INPT, at a press conference here.
Debbarma declared the party�s aspirants for all the 28 seats virtually closing the door for an alliance with Congress. Of the total candidates, as many as 18 are new faces.
He said that the INPT had tried its level best to fight the ADC election with Congress but it could not be achieved due to the rigid stand taken by the Congress. �The decision of the party has already been communicated to the AICC general secretary, in-charge of Tripura, V Narayanswami�, he said.
On the possibility of electoral understanding with its long-term electoral ally � Congress, Debbarma said that there is no scope as the party has already declared its candidates for the ensuing elections.
Giving details on the talks on seat sharing deal, Debbarma said that Congress had offered only nine seats of the total 28 constituencies. �Earlier, it was agreed that INPT would be given more seats when it comes to ADC election. But this has not happened�, he lamented.
The Congress has also announced its candidates for the tribal council elections. �We have tried our level best to contest the election with the INPT. But, unfortunately it could not be achieved�, said TPCC president Surajit Dutta.
According to political analysts, the move of Congress and INPT has virtually brought cheer to the ruling Left Front camp as division of anti-Left votes in the coming ADC election will certainly be an advantage to the ruling party.
