Agartala, April 6: CPIM State Secretary and Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Choudhury has been appointed to the party’s politburo, succeeding veteran leader and former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. With this elevation, Choudhury becomes the first tribal leader from Tripura to join the CPIM’s top decision-making body.
The announcement was made following the conclusion of the CPIM’s 24th Party Congress, held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
The party has restructured its leadership, forming a new 85-member Central Committee and an 18-member politburo. Among the newly named politburo members are two women—U. Vasuki and Mariam Dhawale.
Besides, prominent leaders from Tripura – former ministers Manik Dey, Naresh Jamatia, Ratan Bhowmik, and women’s leader Krishna Rakshit were named to the Central Committee.
Four other leaders, however, were excluded due to health issues and the party’s upper age limit policy introduced in 2022, which caps leadership roles at age 75.
Manik Sarkar, now 76, stepped down from the politburo in line with this policy. Sarkar had served on the body for several years, continuing a legacy of high-level representation from Tripura that began with former Chief Minister Nripen Chakraborty.
Jitendra Choudhury, 67, has been a prominent figure in Tripura’s Left politics for decades. A member of the CPI-M since 1981, he rose through the ranks after leading major grassroots movements.
He served as a minister under Sarkar’s government from 1993 to 2014, managing key portfolios including Forest, Tribal Welfare, and Information & Cultural Affairs.
He became State Secretary of CPI-M’s Tripura unit in 2021 after the passing of Goutam Das, becoming the second tribal leader to hold the post after former Chief Minister Dasaratha Deb.
Beyond state politics, Choudhury has held significant national roles, including serving as Chief Whip of the CPI-M in the Lok Sabha. He currently leads two tribal advocacy platforms: the Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch as national convener, and the Tripura Rajya Upajati Ganamukti Parishad as president.
Choudhury’s induction into the politburo is being hailed as a move to reinforce the CPIM’s tribal outreach and consolidate its influence in Tripura, a state where ethnic identity and regional representation remain deeply intertwined with electoral politics.
