Congress bickers over Tripura bypoll nominee

AGARTALA, April 14: Complications have surfaced over the issue of Congress nomination to the crucial Banamalipur Assembly constituency, which will face byelection in less than a month. The PCC has forwarded the name of Mahitosh Saha, brother of slain sitting Congress MLA Madhusudan alias Bhola Saha as the party's nominee for the bypoll. But the dissident faction of the PCC opposed to president Birajit Sinha later sent the name of reputed dental surgeon and chief of the doctors' cell Manik Saha. Besides, the women's front of the party has also demanded the nomination of state unit president and former minister Laxmi Nag for the byelection. Sources in the PCC said the followers of the slain MLA were demanding nomination in favour of his brother Mahitosh Saha on the ground that a latent "sympathy wave" would help him sail through. However, sources described the idea of sympathy wave "illusory" and said Saha was a "greenhorn in politics and in a constituency dominated by educated middle class voters in the heart of the town required a candidate with a clean image and good educational background." Sources also said Saha's followers had mounted pressure on senior party leaders, including the sitting MLA and former working president Kashiram Reang, to sign a letter proposing Mahitosh Saha's name. Reang has reportedly complained to the party high command regarding it. Sources said the AICC general secretary had categorically told Mahitosh Saha's supporters that had only one name been proposed he would have cleared it but a decision had to be taken "carefully" now because two names had been forwarded to the party high command. Saha's followers have started making frantic telephone calls to Manik Saha and Laxmi Nag asking them to withdraw their names, sources added. The state unit of the Trinamul Congress is fielding party convenor Ratan Chakraborty as the candidate as party supremo Mamata Banerjee has already cleared his name. She has also addressed a letter to AICC president Sonia Gandhi requesting her to allot the seat to the Trinamul Congress. Sources in the Trinamul Congress said even in a triangular contest, Ratan Chakraborty would win the seat which he had won twice in 1988 and 1993. During his tenure as sports and information minister for five years Ratan Chakraborty was the lone minister of the Congress-TUJS coalition government.