Fissures within the organisational structure of Congress in Tripura are beginning to show, with the Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee expelling its General Secretary Baptu Chakraborty on Wednesday for six years for “anti-party activities”.
A report appearing in the The Times of India stated that the timing of the move, when Chakraborty is away in New Delhi to meet party president Rahul Gandhi regarding his grievances about the leadership in the State unit, has led to speculation about the widening rift within the party. While no party leader was willing to go on record about the differences within the party, a Congress committee member in Agartala termed Wednesday’s move as fallout of a power struggle between president of the State unit of the Congress Birajit Sinha and Chakraborty, who was widely seen as an aspirant for the position.
The report further stated that Chakraborty is understood to be close to Rahul and was reportedly meeting him to discuss a plan to revamp the party’s organisation in the State. “Sinha has charged Chakraborty with anti-party activities, but has not elaborated on what these activities are,” said a Congress leader. He added, “The standard protocol is to serve a showcause notice listing the charges and seeking a time-bound response. No such procedure was followed in this case,” a Congress leader said.