6 Tripura Congress MLAs join TMC, trouble grows

After the recent acts of rebellion, the central leadership is keeping a close watch on moves by top party leaders in Maharashtra, MP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab & Karnataka

Trouble is escalating in the Congress at a time attempts are being made to sideline senior leaders who are trying to ensure they can hold on to their positions even if there is a change at the top, with Rahul Gandhi taking charge. On Tuesday, the party got a major jolt as six MLAs in Tripura quit and joined Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress.

This is the third big setback for the Congress in the last few days, after former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi walked out to float his own outfit, and AICC general secretary Gurudas Kamat said he was quitting and leaving active politics in the backdrop of internal splits in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Congress leadership appears confused on what kind of strategy to pursue or corrective steps it must take after a series of defeats in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

In Tripura, six rebel Congress MLAs led by former Opposition leader Sudip Roy Burman submitted a letter to Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath saying they were quitting the party and joining TMC. With this, the TMC becomes the main Opposition party in the Left-ruled state. Mr Burman and three of the MLAs were present as the letter was handed over to the Speaker, while the other two, saying they were unwell, spoke to him on the phone.

Speaker Debnath confirmed that he had got the letter and that he would review the MLAs’ plea. Mr Burman has been elected leader of the TMC legislature group in the Assembly, and is expected to stake claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition. Tripura is the fourth Northeast state after Arunachal, Assam and Meghalaya where the Congress has been hit by dissidence.

Another dissident Congress MLA, Jiten Sarkar, who has resigned from the Assembly, has said he wants to join the ruling CPI(M), CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar said. The Congress rebels said they resigned over the party’s decision to partner the Left in the West Bengal elections.

After the recent acts of rebellion, the central leadership is keeping a close watch on moves by top party leaders in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Karnataka. With the buzz growing on the rise of Generation Next figures, a guessing game has begun in party circles on whether veterans like Kamal Nath, Digvijay Singh, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ashok Gehlot and Sheila Dikshit would “remain silent” if they were marginalised.

The Congress has, meanwhile, attacked Mr Ajit Jogi and virtually rejected Mr Kamat’s plan to quit politics, saying the senior leader was an “integral part of the Congress family”, and that the leadership would discuss with him his future role and responsibilities.

The party termed Mr Jogi’s departure as “good riddance” and said it was spared the trouble of expelling him. “Jogi ceases to be a Congress Working Committee member and chairman of the AICC’s tribal cell after his announcement on floating a new party. He has saved us the trouble of expelling him,” AICC general secretary B.K. Hariprasad told reporters. “It is a good riddance that he has left.”

He said Mr Jogi quit after the party ignored his demand for a Rajya Sabha nomination. Mr Hariprasad dubbed Mr Jogi as “de facto chief minister of Chhattigarh”, saying he consistently sabotaged the prospects of the Congress to help the BJP’s Raman Singh retain power since 2003. When asked if Mr Jogi might join the saffron party, he said: “He (Jogi) is de facto CM there so it is immaterial if he joins the BJP or not.” Mr Hariprasad said the party will not take any action against MLAs, including Renu Jogi, who took part in Mr Jogi’s meeting the other day.

On Mr Kamat, Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala “categorically and squarely” rejected reports that he had resigned, and said: “He was, is and will always remain a part of the Congress family. I am certain the Congress leadership will discuss with him his future role and responsibilities in the party so that it can benefit from his experience.” This statement came a day after the 61-year-old Mr Kamat said he was quitting active politics.

Mr Kamat’s move comes ahead of next year’s Mumbai civic polls, where the Congress hopes to dislodge the Shiv Sena-BJP combine. Mr Surjewala’s remarks came hours after Mr Kamat made it clear he had the “highest respect and regard” for Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-chief Rahul Gandhi, and “my resignation is purely on personal grounds”. Mr Kamat, the party’s longtime chief in Mumbai, was said to be unhappy that long-time detractor Sanjay Nirupam was made head of the city unit.