KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is set to return to Tripura later this week to formally kickstart the party’s campaign in all 60 assembly seats in the state. Sushmita Dev, the former Silchar MP, is likely to figure prominently in TMC’s Tripura blitz across eight districts.
While Sushmita is expected to reach Agartala from Silchar on September 1, Abhishek is expected to reach two days later. Along with senior leaders from Bengal, TMC student and youth leaders have been camping in Tripura for several weeks preparing the ground for the 15-day mass connect programme to be unveiled by Banerjee. This, interestingly, will also take Sushmita to gymnast Dipa Karmakar’s home.
According to sources, Sushmita taking a lead in TMC’s Tripura plans was foregone. Though the party formally did not spell it out when she joined TMC after resigning from Congress on August 16, it was largely felt that TMC has a bigger role carved out for her to firmly establish the party foothold in the Bengali-dominated Barak Valley, which is contiguous with Tripura.
Sushmita’s father and former Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev was twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Tripura and had been a central minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government as a Tripura West MP. Interestingly, Mamata Banerjee, then a Union sports minister, was his cabinet colleague then.
A source close to the development said, “Sushmita has already launched an organisational drive in Silchar. She is largely expected to do that in Tripura too. She has a long association with the state.”
Responding to a question earlier on the party’s face for the Tripura assembly polls, Abhishek had said it will be a local. “It is very clear that Tripura BJP is a divided house. The party is facing internal dissent, which, coupled with the anger against the Biplab Deb government, has made BJP desperate. Hence the repeated threats and attacks on our party workers and supporters,” sources said.
The party is watching with interest as BJP reaches out to disgruntled MLAs led by Sudip Roy Burman. The Agartala legislator and the former state opposition leader had been with TMC before switching over to BJP.
State education minister Bratya Basu said BJP MLAs in Tripura were also in touch with TMC. “When Mamata Banerjee steps into Tripura, there will be a tsunami. BJP leaders are pretty aware of this,” he said. “Tripura under BJP has been transformed into a valley of fear,” Basu alleged.
Abhishek on Monday went to SSKM hospital and spent time with student leader Subhankar Debnath, who was injured in an attack on TMCP foundation day on Saturday. Subhankar was flown to Kolkata late that night.
