Congress and CPM unite in Tripura West against BJP's Biplab Kumar Deb in upcoming elections

NEW DELHI: From 1952 to 2019, Tripura West was a constituency where Congress and CPM contested head-to-head. However, this time, both parties are fighting together under the 'India' front. BJP has fielded former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

The opposition alliance is attempting to consolidate anti-BJP votes. Among the constituency's 14.61 lakh voters, besides Bengalis, there is a significant presence of tribal and minority groups.

Voting will be held in the first phase on the 19th. In 2019, Biplab Kumar Deb is utilizing all 18 strategies to retain the constituency, which he won with a majority of 3,05,669 votes. Biplab claims that none of the significant leaders of the CPM, including Manik Sarkar will vote for the Congress candidate.

It is noteworthy that Biplab Kumar Deb became the Chief Minister of Tripura in March 2018, ending 25 years of Left rule in Tripura. He is currently a Rajya Sabha MP. Biplab's parents migrated to Tripura from Pakistan. Biplab is associated with controversy due to his remarks, such as claiming that the Internet existed since the Mahabharata era. His comment comparing the physical strength of Punjabis and Jats to Bengalis drew considerable criticism.

Ashish Kumar Saha's political journey is intriguing. He switched from Congress to Trinamool Congress in 2016, in protest against the Congress's decision to ally with the CPM in the 2016 Bengal Assembly elections. He joined BJP in August 2017, only to return to Congress again in 2022. He became Tripura Congress President in June 2023.

2019 election result

- Pratima Bhowmik (BJP): 573,532 votes, vote share: 51.77%
- Subal Bhowmik (Congress): 267,843 votes, vote share: 24.18%
- Shankar Prasad Dutta (CPM): 171,826 votes, vote share: 15.51%