AGARTALA, March 8 - It may be unbelievable that a person who had ruled Tripura for 20 long years doesn�t have his own home at the end of his innings as a Chief Minister!
On Wednesday, former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar along with his wife Panchali Bhattacharjee, a retired employee of Central Government took shelter in a room at the CPI (M) party headquarters here.
Sarkar, who won the Assembly election from Dhanpur Assembly constituency with a comfortable margin, has failed to lead the party to the victory podium and he has tendered his resignation as the CM on March 5.
The 65-year-old Marxist leader, however, had a small ancestral plot in a posh area of the capital town but that was also �donated� to his younger sister Sabita Sarkar, a former teacher.
�Sarkar, who was arguably the poorest Chief Minister of the country, reportedly took a few pairs of clothes, some books and CD containing classic songs along with him while walking out of his bungalow. Her wife also did the same � taking a few things of her own�, said a party leader.
Of course, this will be a temporary destination for four-time Chief Minister of the State as he will finally reside in a flat owned by his wife at Ker Chowmuhani, a high profile locality of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC). �Masons are giving the flat a finishing touch and it will be ready very shortly�, said a senior party functionary who doesn�t wish to be named.
In doing so, he followed the footprints of former CM and his political mentor Nripen Chakraborty, who had also stayed in the then party headquarter opposite Melarmath area.
All the Ministers of Left Front have already vacated their official residences and they will stay in MLA hostel. According to party insiders, Sarkar is likely to become the leader of the Opposition in the newly constituted Tripura Assembly.
�Sarkar will be elected as leader of LF Legislature Party and he will be accorded the status of Leader of Opposition (LoP). After 1988 Assembly polls, Nripen Chakraborty, who was the CM from 1978 to 1988, became the LoP and put the Treasury bench in awkward situation on many occasions�, he said.
