Agartala, Apr 8 (IANS): Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday said that the alliance between Congress and Left parties would take the communists to ‘graveyard’ and even the CPI-M Tripura state Secretary would sell the state party headquarters building.

Deb, who is also the BJP candidate for the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency, while addressing an election campaign in West Tripura said that while the communists had claimed to stay in power in Tripura for 100 years, they were blown away by PM Modi’s storm in 2018.

He alleged that CPI-M politburo member Manik Sarkar who was the Chief Minister for 20 long years (1998-2018) by “playing politics against the Congress displaying transparent image and highlighting political principles”, is now seeking votes for Congress under pressure.

Tripura state Congress President Asish Kumar Saha is contesting in the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat while former CPI-M MLA Rajendra Reang is fighting the parliamentary polls in the Tripura East constituency, reserved for the tribals.

Both Saha and Reang are consensus nominees of the opposition INDIA bloc.

Deb said: “With the slogan of crushing the black hand of the Congress during his (Manik Sarkar) entire political life, now 'the hand' (Congress symbol) is the last resort of the Communists to save their political existence.

“Many lives were lost in the past during the political conflicts between the Congress and CPI-M and now they forget everything and hold each other's hands. Militancy was born in Tripura because of them,” he said.

The BJP leader said that the people of Tripura were deprived of development and could not be freed from its ill effects during the regime of Left and Congress.

Biplab Kumar Deb called upon everyone not to cast a single vote to the Communist-Congress alliance.

He further alleged that behind the open political differences and rivalry, there was eternal friendship between them.

“They (Congress-Left) served their personal and political interests but neglected the fate of the people of Tripura. Therefore, not a single vote to this misguided opposition and ill alliance.”

Deb, currently the BJP Rajya Sabha member, said that during their regime the Left party had been given social allowances of Rs 700 per month while under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP government in Tripura has increased that amount in just five years to Rs 2,000 per month.