Congress Abstains from Tripura Rajya Sabha Vote Amid Controversy

The Congress party abstained from voting in Tripura's Rajya Sabha seat election. They protested the recent Panchayat elections, accusing the BJP of coercive tactics. The CPI(M) fielded a candidate without consulting Congress. Despite discrepancies, CPI(M) claims no formal alliance existed with Congress for various elections.

The Congress on Tuesday chose to abstain from voting in the Rajya Sabha election for Tripura's sole seat, a race featuring candidates from both the ruling BJP and the opposition CPI(M).

Previously, Congress and CPI(M) have aligned for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. However, senior Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman clarified that the abstention was a protest against what he described as the 'farcical' Panchayat elections, alleging they posed a threat to democracy.

The BJP secured an unopposed victory in 71% of the seats in Tripura's local Panchayat polls, which opposition parties claimed was a result of BJP's terror tactics. During the same period, CPI(M) fielded Sudhan Das to run against BJP's Rajib Bhattacharjee for the Rajya Sabha seat.

(With inputs from agencies.)