The Left Front in Tripura on Wednesday announced former Finance Minister and MLA Bhanulal Saha as its candidate for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state on September 22. The seat fell vacant after Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha resigned in July this year.
Saha, who contested the Rajya Sabha post earlier this year, secured 15 votes in the state assembly and lost to Dr. Manik Saha, who got 33 votes in the 60-member assembly.
Speaking to reporters at the CPI(M) party headquarters, Left Front convener Narayan Kar said that the Left alliance will put up a strong fight in the Parliament elections, even if the BJP has a single majority in the House.
We will fight with BJP to defeat them. We appeal to all MLAs to defeat the policies of the BJP.
In an appeal to form a unified front against the BJP, Kar said, “We appeal to all the parties which are represented in the assembly to come together to give a befitting reply to the BJP.”
Kar further said that the BJP does not give due respect to its allies and added that the MLAs of the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), a tribal ally of the BJP, are not respected by the saffron camp. “BJP MLAs also don’t get due respect in the party,” he said.
Reaching out to Congress MLA Sudip Roy Burman, Kar asked him to join hands in the fight against the BJP. “We are not making individual requests, rather we are making a holistic appeal to all non-BJP parties that have representation in the assembly and join hands to fight a united fight against the BJP which is challenging the Constitution. . It is a collective responsibility,” the Left Front convener said.
While no comment was available from the IPFT or Congress on the issue, Kar’s comment came at a critical time, barely months after Congress called on all non-BJP parties to set up a strategic forum to counter alleged “political violence”.
BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said his party was confident of victory and was not giving any special importance to the Left Front’s remarks. “There is a certain protocol for Rajya Sabha elections. Left leaders are well aware of this. He made some comments just to stay in the news,” Bhattacharya said.
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