Agartala, March 12 (IANS) The CPI-M-led Left Front in Tripura on Tuesday announced its candidates for the state’s two Lok Sabha seats, renominating sitting MPs Jitendra Chowdhury and Shankar Prasad Datta from the Tripura East and Tripura West constituencies, respectively.
Announcing the names, Left Front Convener Bijan Dhar said the Left parties would not ally with the Congress in the state. The Congress has already ruled out any alliance.
The two Lok Sabha seats are likely to see a tough fight with both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress looking for strong candidates to take on Chowdhury and Datta.
While Chowdhury is the National Convener of the Left-backed Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch (AARM) and President of Communist Party of India-Marxist’s tribal wing, the Tripura Rajya Upajati Ganamukti Parishad, Datta is the state General Secretary of CPI-M-affiliated trade union body, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.
Chowdhury also served as Tribal Welfare and Forest Minister in the previous Left Front government for over the two decades since 1993. He is the chief whip of the CPI-M in the outgoing Lok Sabha.
