CPI(M) and Congress have a secret affair that people are not fond of: Tripura CM Manik Saha

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha asserted that the state's people dislike the CPI(M) and Congress's closeness ahead of the assembly elections, claiming that the BJP will have an advantage over the two opposition parties.

Saha's statement came a day after six opposition parties, including the CPI(M) and the Congress, issued a joint statement urging the "peace­loving" people of the Northeastern state to raise their voices in support of the restoration of democracy, the rule of law, and the holding of a free and fair election.

The BJP-IPFT alliance won a two-thirds majority in the 60-member House in the 2018 assembly elections, thereby ending the state's 25-year-long Left government.

Saha on December 28 stated that it is an opportunist understanding. Earlier, the love between the two parties (CPI(M) and Congress) was a secret affair and now it came to the fore. People are not taking it positively.

He also asserted that the CPI(M) and Congress have not learned their lesson from West Bengal, where they contested elections together against the Trinamool Congress but failed to make a dent.

The statement was signed by the leaders of five Left parties, including the CPI(M), Forward Bloc, CPI, RSP, and CPI(ML), as well as Congress. Tipra Motha president Pradyot Kishore Manikya, according to CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Choudhury, has largely approved the sentiments contained in the joint statement but was unable to sign it because he is now abroad in the state.

"In the election, the public will reject the opportunist understanding," Saha predicted. Ajay Kumar, the AICC national secretary who visited here on Wednesday, asserted that people are tired of the BJP and want to unite on a single platform.