Manik Sarkar will be Left Front chief ministerial candidate in Tripura Assembly polls, says CPM

Agartala: The CPM in Tripura on Saturday said Manik Sarkar would be the Left Front’s chief ministerial candidate for the Assembly elections in the state, which is slated to be held in February.

If the Left Front wins the next Assembly elections, Sarkar would be the chief minister for the fifth consecutive term.

“We have no doubt about forming the next government. Manik Sarkar would be the chief minister of the eighth Left Front government in Tripura. He is physically strong and capable of running the government efficiently,” state CPM secretary Bijan Dhar told reporters in Agartala.

Replying to a question, he said the party’s constitution does not bar a person from contesting elections or holding the post of chief minister for more than two or three terms.

When his attention was drawn to the fact that senior party leader Sitaram Yechury was not allowed a third term in the Rajya Sabha, Dhar said it is the convention in the CPM that one member would not be elected to the Upper House for the third time.

“Moreover, a party general secretary cannot hold any parliamentary post because he is supposed to concentrate more on party works. Harkishen Singh Surjeet was elected as party general secretary and never contested for a Rajya Sabha seat,” Dhar said.