New Delhi/Agartala: Tripura’s ruling BJP may get a major boost ahead of the February 16 assembly elections, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) legislator Moboshar Ali and Trinamool Congress leader Subal Bhowmik said on Friday. joined the saffron party in the national capital. Ali and Bhowmick joined the BJP at the party headquarters in Delhi in the presence of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, state party president Rajib Bhattacharya and party spokesperson and in-charge of northeastern states Sambit Patra.
BJP sources also said that senior Congress leader Bilal Miya and some other leaders are also likely to join the saffron party.
Miya, however, ruled out the possibility of joining the BJP. Ali was elected to the Tripura Legislative Assembly in 2018 from the Kailasahar constituency in North Tripura, while Miya won the Boxanagar seat in West Tripura twice, in 1988 and 1998.
Both Ali and Mia are senior leaders of their respective parties.
The Trinamool Congress had removed Subal Bhowmik from the post of Tripura unit state president on August 24 last year, but he remained in the party.
Bhowmick, a former Congress MLA, joined the Trinamool Congress in July 2021.
He switched from BJP to Congress in 2019.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, “The party is in talks with some other CPI(M) and Congress leaders to join the party.”
“The BJP may nominate both Ali and Miya to contest the upcoming assembly elections,” he told IANS on condition of anonymity.
When contacted, Congress leader and former minister Miya told IANS, “At this point of time, I am not joining any other party. Since I am in politics, leaders of any party can talk to me about their proposals.” Huh.”
On questions about which leaders and parties spoke to her, Miya said: “No comment at the moment.”
Five Left parties led by the CPI(M) on Wednesday announced their 47 candidates, leaving 13 seats for their new ally Congress, while leaving out eight sitting MLAs, including Ali.
The Kailashahar assembly constituency, from where Ali was elected in the 2018 assembly elections, was allotted to the Congress.
Four-time former chief minister and CPI(M) politburo member Manik Sarkar, party stalwart and former minister Badal Chowdhary, three more former ministers – Tapan Chakraborty, Sahid Chowdhary, Bhanulal Saha were also dropped on health grounds.
The Congress leaders themselves seem to be particularly angry over the distribution of fewer seats.
Disappointed, Congress leader and party’s lone MLA Sudip Roy Barman said that they had first demanded 27 seats and then demanded 23 seats from the Left parties.
Roy Burman told IANS, “They (Left parties) have taken a decision according to their whims and fancies, we will go by the will of the people.”