Ex-Tripura Cong president appointed Trinamool's state chief

Agartala, Dec 11 (IANS) Trinamool Congress Chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Sunday appointed former Tripura Congress President and veteran lawyer Pijush Kanti Biswas as President of her party's Tripura unit.

Biswas along with five other Congress leaders last week joined the Trinamool in New Delhi in the presence of party supremo Mamata Banerjee and National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Trinamool's Rajya Sabha Member Sushmita Dev and the party's Tripura state in-charge and former West Bengal Minister Rajib Banerjee felicitated Biswas and other new joinees -- Tejen Das, Ananta Banerjee, Bimal Rudra Paul, Purnita Chakma and Samarendra Ghosh.

Tejen Das and Rajib Banerjee have been former General Secretaries of Tripura Pradesh Congress, Purnita Chakma has been a former Working President of Tripura Mahila Congress while Samarendra Ghosh had worked as the former General Secretary of Tripura Youth Congress.

The Trinamool Congress had been searching for a candidate for the party's president post in Tripura after it removed Subal Bhowmik from the post on August 24. Bhowmik, a former Congress MLA, joined the Trinamool Congress in July 2021.

Pijush Kanti Biswas later told the media that the Trinamool under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee is the only party that can defeat the BJP and that is proved in West Bengal. "BJP has destroyed the democracy and rule of law in Tripura. The TMC after winning the 2023 assembly polls would restore democracy in Tripura and provide a peaceful atmosphere in the state. The TMC would crush the BJP's 'Bike Bahini' and defeat the jungle raj unleashed by the ruling party," he said.

The new Trinamool president, despite repeated questions by the media, did not give a clear cut answer about the possible electoral alliance with any political party. "Discussion is going on with the tribal based party TIPRA (Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance). However, no concrete shape has emerged yet."