BJP MLA joins Congress in Tripura, a day after leaving the saffron party

Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl was among the six Congress legislators led by Sudip Roy Barman who switched over to the Trinamool Congress in 2016, and to the BJP a year later

A day after exiting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Tripura legislator Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl joined the Congress during a rally in Agartala on Thursday. Hrangkhawl submitted his resignation to the assembly secretary on Wednesday citing personal reasons.

Representational image. (PTI FIle)

Hrangkhawl was among the six Congress legislators led by Sudip Roy Barman who switched over to the Trinamool Congress in 2016, and to the BJP a year later.

A four-term legislator, he won his first three elections on a Congress ticket barring the fourth, from BJP, in 2018.

Besides, BJP leader Rajkumar Sarkar and Trinamool Congress youth leader Rakesh Das too joined the Congress in the rally held in front of Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhawan in the capital city.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Tripura in-charge Ajay Kumar said Hrangkhawl’s inclusion in the party will increase its prospects ahead of next year’s elections.

“We will start a campaign across the state against the BJP’s failures of fulfilling promises made in their vision document before the polls. We have realised what damage BJP has done to us. All like-minded people will join us. Their (BJP) countdown begins today,” Kumar said.

On being asked about the possibility of forging an alliance with the CPM, Kumar said that the Congress is ready to do “small or big sacrifices” if it serves the interest of Tripura.

“We want people to live happy and in solidarity. If we are given a chance in the 2023 assembly polls, we promise to take a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption, drugs and crimes against women,” Congress legislator Sudip Roy Barman said.

The Congress also released a document with 25 unfulfilled promises out of more than 300 made by the BJP before they came to power in 2018.