Kolkata: Barely four months after his appointment, Subal Bhowmik was removed Wednesday from his post as president of the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) Tripura unit, amid speculation that he would be returning to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The development comes ahead of a two-day visit to Tripura by BJP chief J. P. Nadda, starting 28 August, during which he is expected to discuss the party’s strategy for the next state assembly election, due to be held by March next year.
A former Tripura BJP vice-president, Bhowmik joined the TMC in July 2021 and was made the party’s state president on 29 April this year. He was also a member of the TMC’s core and steering committees.
“Subal Bhowmik is being relieved from duties of state president of Tripura Pradesh Trinamool Congress with immediate effect,” the TMC said initially in a statement without mentioning any reason for his removal.
The TMC’s Tripura in-charge Rajib Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev will oversee the party’s functioning in the state until a new president is appointed, it added.
In a video message shared with reporters, Bhowmik said he was neither consulted before the Trinamool made its announcement nor was he asked to respond to any questions posed by the party. “The party can take such a decision. There’s nothing I can say about this,” he added.
ThePrint reached out to Bhowmik for comment over the phone and via text message, but was yet to receive a response at the time this report was published. The report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Speaking to ThePrint, Banerjee said the decision was made after holding deliberations with the party stakeholders and leadership for over a month. “As the party’s president in Tripura, Subal was given the responsibility to make all the decisions for the TMC’s progress. However, our performance in the bypolls was so poor that the party decided to remove him from the top post and induct a fresh face.”
In the byelections to the state assembly held in June, the Trinamool Congress was wiped out in all four seats — three went to the BJP and one to the Congress. In Agartala, the TMC managed a 2.1 per cent vote share, 3.4 per cent in Surma, 2.96 per cent in Town Bardowali and 2.98 per cent in Jubarajnagar.
“Subal was taking all the key decisions for the party in Tripura. He even turned down suggestions that were being made by other leaders, saying it wouldn’t prove beneficial. We entrusted him to lead the party, but it yielded no results. He’s only been removed as the party president in Tripura — he continues to be a TMC leader,” Banerjee told ThePrint.
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‘Was in constant touch with BJP’
A BJP insider in Tripura told ThePrint that Bhowmik was in “constant touch” with the BJP even when Biplab Deb was chief minister. Deb was replaced by Manik Saha as CM in May.
“He had sought several meetings, but the party kept him waiting back then. But he may join the BJP during Nadda’s visit. There’s a high chance (of that happening),” the BJP insider added.
The BJP faced a severe jolt Tuesday after its top tribal leader, Hangsha Kumar Tripura, joined the Tripura Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) along with 6,500 followers.
“Hangsha quitting the BJP is a big setback. With Subal Bhowmik joining the party, it could help us. But Bhowmik has been a very poor performer. Him being in the TMC was a blessing in disguise,” said the BJP insider.
Udayan Bandopadhyay, a political analyst and associate professor of political science at Kolkata’s Bangabasi College, thinks the Trinamool is unlikely to produce a substantial result in the coming election in Tripura.
“The Left is still the primary opposition in Tripura, and the BJP is the ruling party. The TMC can strive to make inroads, but I don’t see it giving any competition to the already established parties in the state,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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