Agartala: The Trinamool Congress will not form any alliance with the Congress in Tripura to fight against the ruling Left Front in next year’s assembly elections, party leaders said here on Sunday.
“Congress has no reliability in Tripura. People also have no confidence on the party. The people want non-Congress and non-Left parties to come to power,” Tripura Trinamool Congress leader Manik Deb told reporters.
“In the previous elections, Congress told the people that they were comning to power, but they failed. Trinamool Congress, on its own strength, will come to power in the polls,” Deb said.
Deb, convenor of the party’s Tripura unit, quoting central party leaders, announced to put up candidates in all 60 seats for the polls likely to be held in February.
The Trinamool Congress-Congress combine successfully fought the Left Front in the West Bengal assembly elections and wrested power last May.
“Thousands of Congress, Communist Party of India-Marxist and other party leaders and members have joined Trinamool Congress in Tripura after the West Bengal assembly election results,” Deb said.
The Congress, however, rejected Trinamool’s claim.
“It will help the ruling Left Front if opposition parties do not form alliance or do not fight unitedly,” Congress spokesman Tapas Dey told reporters.
“Congress is the main political force in Tripura. How can smaller parties ignore it?,” Dey said.
“We have not yet decided to forge any alliance with the Trinamool because the party has no political base in Tripura. We on our own strength would oust the Left Front,” said Dey, a former legislator, said.
Trinamool leaders, including its former state chairman Arun Chandra Bhowmik, have announced to launch July 14 a “Mission 2013” with the aim to oust the Left Front through a “civil disobedience movement.”
Political observers say Trinamool chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is trying to capture the Left Front’s last stronghold, Tripura, by launching an “unrelenting anti-Left campaign”.
The CPM-led Left Front has been in power in the state since 1993, and they made quite a record winning four assembly elections in a row.
The CPI-M is dismissive of Trinamool’s claim.
“The party has no strength in the state. Some Congressmen joined the party. Only they can see such dreams and no one else,” party state secretary Bijon Dhar told reporters here.
The Left and Congress have categorised Trinamool in a statement as “an insignificant party in Tripura”. (IANS)