Tripura: TPCC by-elections to be held after 19 years as Congress aims for ‘complete restart’

Agartala: After a gap of 19 years, the Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) is all set to go for by-elections this year. The election process is expected to end by September.

Until now, the AICC has appointed leaders to various important positions.
Senior Congress leader Abdul Hanan, who has been tasked with conducting the elections, presided over a meeting of Congress leaders on Tuesday.

Hanan said that the AICC has decided to hold elections across the country to bring big bang reforms in the party.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, Tripura Pradesh Congress sources said, “These elections are very important because almost 19 years later, the Pradesh Congress Committee has decided to hold elections at various levels of the organization.”

In 2003, Brajit Sinha, the current TPCC president, formed an elected Congress committee after defeating former chief minister Sameer Ranjan Berman for the presidency. Elections were held at Agartala Town Hall and ballots were counted in New Delhi. A senior Congress leader said that senior Congress leader Mani Shankar was the party’s election in-charge.
Party sources said that the decision of the Congress party to hold elections after the party’s disappointing performance in the membership drive would be a difficult one.

Apart from Sushanta Chakraborty, former president of Tripura Pradesh Youth Congress and Muhammad Barujjaman , president of Unakoti District Congress, no leader has been able to make any significant progress in their areas. It seems that if elections are held, the current PCC president Brajit Sinha will travel easily as the two leaders are very close to him, the source added.
Sources said that former MLA Ashish Saha could also contest for the post of President. Elections for the two most important positions, the PCC President and the AICC Member, will be held at the grassroots level. The two positions have almost equal powers as AICC members generally act as a point of contact between the AICC and the TPCC, while the PCC president has the freedom to make all important decisions.