Tripura polls: CPM, Cong set to enter pact on seat sharing

Sources said a small committee of leaders from both the parties would be set up to identify the seats to be contested by the Congress, CPI(M) and the other Left parties and finalise the seat-sharing arrangement.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury had a meeting with AICC in charge of Tripura Ajoy Kumar on Sunday.

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THE CPI(M) and the Congress are close to entering into a seat-sharing arrangement in Tripura, where Assembly elections are expected to be held next month. Sources said leaders of the two parties met in Delhi on Sunday and there was a broad agreement that the parties should “work together” to ensure that there is no division in anti-BJP votes.

Sources said a small committee of leaders from both the parties would be set up to identify the seats to be contested by the Congress, CPI(M) and the other Left parties and finalise the seat-sharing arrangement. A meeting of the CPI(M)’s Tripura state committee, to be held in Agartala on Monday and Tuesday, is expected to give the final approval for the alliance from the party’s side.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury had a meeting with AICC in charge of Tripura Ajoy Kumar on Sunday.

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The meeting came even as Pradyot Manikya Debbarman, the chairperson of the TIPRA Motha party, was in talks with the Congress leadership for an electoral understanding in the tribal areas where his party has some clout. Pradyot is said to be directly in touch with AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The Congress and the Left believe Motha’s influence is largely limited to 20 ST seats. The Motha, on the other hand, has already declared that it will foray beyond the 20 ST seats and contest from 50-55 seats. Both the Congress and Left believe Pradyot’s statement that the Motha would contest on 50-55 of the 60 seats was mere posturing.

Sources said the Congress and CPI(M) were amenable to leaving over a dozen seats uncontested for Motha if a tactical understanding can be worked out. Both the CPI(M) and the Congress are keen that there is no division in the anti-BJP votes. That said, the two parties are also not clear on how many seats each party would contest.

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