Two Tripura BJP MLAs quit, likely to join Congress

Sources close to Roy and Saha said that they might meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in Delhi and join the party. Roy Barman and Saha, strong critics of Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, were earlier in Congress before joining TMC in 2016 and then shifting to BJP in 2017.

Agartala (Tripura): In a major political jolt to the BJP in Tripura, MLAs Sudip Roy Barman and Ashish Saha on Monday resigned from the Tripura assembly, and also gave up the party membership. The two have also left for Delhi to decide their next course of action even as reports suggest they may join Congress.

After submitting their resignation letters to Tripura Assembly Speaker, both Roy, a former Minister, and Saha told the media that they have also sent their resignation letters to the BJP's state President Manik Saha. "We are going to Delhi today (Monday) and will come back here on Saturday, then we will tell you everything in detail about our future political course," Roy told the media.

Read:Tripura rebel MLAs hold meeting with local leaders to create roadmap for 2023 polls

Sources close to Roy and Saha said that they might meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in Delhi and join the party. Roy Barman and Saha, strong critics of Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, were earlier in Congress before joining TMC in 2016 and then shifting to BJP in 2017.

To mention, BJP MLA Ashish Das, after strongly criticising the saffron party and its leadership including Chief Minister Deb, joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on October 31, 2021, following which he was disqualified from Tripura Assembly by Speaker Ratan Chakraborty on January 5.

(With agency inputs)