AGARTALA, May 13 � Very poor organisational strength in tribal areas has led to another debacle for the century-old party in the ADC polls, felt Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Birajit Sinha.
Party leaders down the line are still in shock after the humiliating defeat at the hand of the CPM-led Left Front in the last Assembly elections and they are not in a position to motivate the party workers to work for the party, he said while speaking to media here recently.
�I have taken the rein of PCC only in January this year and did not get much time to activate the almost dormant party leaders and workers to take on the CPM in the recently concluded elections to Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), he explained.
Admitting that the party could not keep its traditional support intact in the tribal council areas because of poor organisation, the seasoned politician said he would bring a massive change in the PCC for the betterment of the party in the State.
�Many heads, who are holding different posts at different levels � from Block Congress to District Congress committees, will roll within the next few months. Party posts are not ornaments to be kept in the showcase, they are provided to work for betterment of the party. Those leaders who don�t work for the party, will be removed very shortly�, he said.
On being asked if he smells any sabotage in the party�s poor show, Sinha replied, �I won�t say yes or not. But it is noticeable that BJP finished second by securing over 4,000 votes in the Karamcherra constituency, which falls under former PCC president DC Hrangkhawl�s Assembly segment. Yet, I hold poor organisation responsible for the party�s overall disastrous performance in the ADC elections�.
On the growing influence of Indigenous People�s Front of Tripura in the State�s tribal belts, Sinha said, �In Olympics, so many sprinters run for medals but finishing fourth or fifth doesn�t make any difference. People will remember only those sprinters who win gold, silver and bronze�.
He added, �Congress had captured only nine per cent votes in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, which was worst ever results for the party. However, the party, has bounced back in the last Assembly election by managing 48 per cent votes though we could not win the election�.
In the recently concluded ADC elections, the ruling Left has secured 54.21 votes of the total polled votes while the IPFT finished second by bagging 18.06 per cent vote and the INPT stood third by securing 10.77 per cent votes. And, the Congress finished fifth by managing to secure only 5.49 per cent votes putting a question mark on the party�s organisation in tribal areas of the State.