AGARTALA, Feb 26 - Setting aside all speculations, the AICC on Monday appointed Pradyot Kishore Debbarman as the president of Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee, replacing old warhorse Birajit Sinha. A communique signed by KC Venugopal, general secretary AICC (Organisation), was sent to the State Congress unit.
There had been high speculation since the last few months as the stakes of Debbarman, a member of the royal family member and working president of Tripura Congress, rose in the State politics.
His appointment did not come as a surprise as the AICC had been mulling a change of guard to rejuvenate the party after the debacle in the 2018 Assembly elections in Tripura.
Debbarman had been maintaining close contacts with the Congress High Command in New Delhi and AICC general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia. Congress sources in the State said party president Rahul Gandhi, who was taking personal interest in the Tripura affairs, took the decision to appoint Debbarman as the State Congress chief.
The change of guard is being seen as an important development both for the party as well as the State politics just before the Lok Sabha elections.
The faction-ridden State Congress unit has been troubled by internal bickering, but with Debbarman at the helm of affairs, the party is likely to consolidate its tribal support base, particularly in the wake of his recent movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
Debbarman, who is currently in Guwahati, is expected to return to the State shortly, said a local Congress leader here today.
Meanwhile, former Tripura Congress president Gopal Roy has welcomed Debbarman�s appointment as the State party chief before the Lok Sabha election. �I hope the Congress will be united under the new leadership and it will be able to deliver the goods in the forthcoming General Election,� he added.
