‘Lost’ over 60,000 members in Tripura after BJP came to power, claims CPI-M

The CPI-M, which led the Left Front government in Tripura for 35 years in two phases (1978-1988 and 1993-2018), on Sunday claimed that the party 'lost' over 60,000 members in six and a half years after the BJP came to power in the state in March 2018.

Addressing a commemorative meeting organised in memory of the CPI-M's General Secretary Sitaram Yechury in southern Tripura’s Udaipur, state’s party secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said that before March 2018 the party (CPI-M) had over 98,000 members and these numbers now reduced to little over 37,000.

A former Minister and Lok Sabha member, Chaudhury said that if the CPI-M could return to power in the 2018 Assembly elections, the party membership might have crossed 1.50 lakh.

He regretted that out of these 37,000 party members, all are even not actively participating in all the CPI(M)-led agitations, meetings and events.

Chaudhury, who is also currently the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly, said that when the Left Front first came to power in Tripura in 1978, the number of CPI-M members was a little over 6,500, sacrificing their personal needs and happiness expanded the party’s strong base in Tripura.

“These 6500 party members helped the CPI(M)-led Left parties to come to power securing 56 seats in the 60-member assembly. Due to the utter misgovernance of the BJP government, a golden opportunity has emerged for the CPI-M in the state to further strengthen the party with the support of people and defeat the BJP-led coalition government,” he said.

Highlighting the great performance of Yechury, who after battling a severe lung infection at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi died on September 12 at the age of 72 years, Chaudhury, also a CPI-M central committee member, said that the departed leader played the leading role in forming the INDIA bloc comprising 27/28 different political parties.

Announcing that the CPI-M leaders and workers would complete his incomplete task, the Left leader said that Yechury was not only a meritorious leader with a high personality, but he had the tremendous quality to work with the people of different political parties and he was also acceptable to all.

Terming Yechury as a bright captain of the party, the CPI-M Tripura state Secretary said that his death is not only an irreparable loss to the Left parties but also to all the secular parties.

“We would take the inputs and philosophy from the great leader’s performance and work more dedicatedly and sincerely for the cause of the people,” Chaudhury stated.