Trinamool plays poaching game on Cong

Premananda was the vice president of the Congress youth front in Manipur while Moiti was the Pradesh Youth Congress general secretary. The Congress has suffered a set back in Imphal after the duo left the party,Trinamool leaders claimed. Party insiders said two more influential Congress leaders,whose identities have been kept secret,have wished to join Trinamool. They are likely to be inducted in the party in the coming days.

In a desperate move to corner Congress in the final countdown of the Assembly poll,West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool chief,Mamata Banerjee,is arriving in Manipur on January 25 the poll campaign.

Not only Congress,Trinamool is leaving no stone unturned to split other political outfits like Communist Party of India (CPI),Manipur People’s Party (MPP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). A legislator from CPI,U Deben,and six others from MPP and RJD are now contesting the poll on Trinamool tickets. Six MLAs – three each from MPP and RJD – have joined Trinamool and were awarded tickets to contest election. They include K Kunjashekhar,Shyam Kumar Singh and Joy Kishan. The Trinamool is contesting in 47 out of total 60 seats in Manipur.

Trinamool has fielded candidates in 15 out of 21 seats in the state’s hill areas while 22 Trinamool contestants are fighting from seats situated in the valley. The party could not field candidates in the remaining 13 seats because it has no presence there. “Seven sitting MLAs from CPI,MPP and RJD have been given tickets by our party. We have emerged as the decisive force in Manipur,” Sourav Chakraborty,who was sent to Manipur from West Bengal to organise Banerjee’s rally at Imphal on 25 January,told The Indian Express.

“No one would be able to form a government in Manipur without our support. Congress will be marginalised and Trinamool will emerge as the single largest party here this time. We have gained massive support from people in Imphal after Premananda and Moiti joined us. We are getting good response from people living outside Imphal,” Chakraborty said.