Jolt To Congress In North-East As Tripura Party Chief Resigns Over Differences With High Command

Last week, former Jharkhand Congress chief Ajoy Kumar also quit the party and joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Tripura Congress chief Pradyot Deb Barman with former party president Rahul Gandhi/ Image: PTI

New Delhi: In a major jolt to the Congress in the northeast, where it once ruled in all the states, the Tripura state chief Pradyot Deb Barman on Tuesday resigned from all party posts over differences with the high command. "I start this day without having to listen to criminals and liars. Not having to worry about which colleague will backstab you, not having to indulge in groupism and backchat. Today I can contribute for my state with a clear mind," Barman said in a series of tweets sharing his resignation. Pradyot said he was relieved as he would no longer have to "listen to high command on how to accommodate corrupt people in high positions". "I tried and perhaps lost but could I win when I was alone in this fight from the beginning?" Barman said. "I have decided that a positive mindset to life is what I need and I have changed the people around me who are negative," the Congress leader added. After the Lok Sabha polls, many of the senior party leaders have stepped down from the posts of the party. Earlier this year, Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora quit the post after former Chief Rahul Gandhi announced to step down taking the moral responsibility of the party's loss. Last week, former Jharkhand Congress chief Ajoy Kumar also quit the party and joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). "When I woke up relaxed this morning I realised how my health and my life was being affected because I was not ready to allow wrong elements in our society get in to posts and position which could destroy our state," Kumar had said. The northeast was earlier considered a strong bastion of the Congress. However, after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has taken command in most of the states.