Agartala, Sept 3 (TIWN) The key opposition party in Left ruled Tripura is again heading for a split. Several disgruntled Congress leaders including Surajit Datta, Ratan Chakraborty and Jawar Saha will meet Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata Sept 5 to finalise their joining into the party (TMC) and subsequent issues.

This would be the second split in the main opposition Congress after the party suffered a humiliating defeat in the February 14 assembly elections that saw the party to manage only ten seats in the sixty-member assembly.

The Communist Party of India (Marxists) led Left Front secured 50 seats with the CPI (M) alone bagged 49 while Communist Party of India (CPI) got one seat.

Mr Datta, Mr Chakraborty and Mr Jawar Saha, all former ministers and veteran party leaders, have already held a series of meetings with their followers and party members across the state before deciding to leave the Congress.

Former Congress MLA Subal Bhowmik, who lost to a CPI (M) candidate at Sonamura constituency in Western Tripura in the February polls, along with a large number of party cadres and workers left the Congress and floated the Tripura Pragatishil Gramin Congress few months back.

Ratan Chakraborty and Jawar Saha (former leader of the opposition in Tripura) told reporters seperately : “The current leadership of the Congress are desolately failed to deal with the ruling CPI (M) both during elections and after the post poll position.”

“The incumbent state Congress leaders are always busy to look after their own interest, not the party’s or workers’ interest,” Saha said adding that they would be the real opposition group in Tripura to counter the Left parties.

The Congress leadership --- party president Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl, working president Asish Saha and leader of the opposition Sudip Roy Burman --- are trying to downplay the disgruntled Congress leaders’ decisions to join the Trinamool Congress.

Mr Hrangkhawl said : “They are not the leaders like Mamata Banerjee. In a day or two none can be Mamata Banerjee. Whenever some leaders lost the elections or lose the party posts after that the Congress party becomes bad.”

“Their absence in the party in no way affect the Congress,” he said without naming the rebellious party leaders while addressing the party workers at Town Hall here Sunday.

Congress’ all India President Sonia Gandhi recently appointed tribal leader Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl to led the party in Tripura, while Ashish Saha was selected as the party’s working president and nominated Sudip Roy Burman as Tripura Congress Legislature Party leader.

Mr Hrangkhawl was the second tribal leader in Tripura heading the Congress in the northeastern state.

Meanwhile, Mr. Datta, Mr. Chakraborty and Mr. Saha were cabinet ministers in the Congress–TUJS (Tripura Upajati Juba Samity) coalition government in 1988-1993.

Mr Datta was the state Congress Chief before Mr Barman while Mr Saha was the leader of the opposition earlier and Mr Chakraborty is a good orator.