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Barpeta, April 29: In a sharp rebuttal to Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Bora's recent statement about the Communist Party of India (Marxist) going "nil" without Manoranjan Talukdar's presence in the State Assembly, CPI (M) state secretary Suprakash Talukdar on Monday alleged that it was Bora himself who had insisted on fielding Talukdar as the party's candidate for the Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency.
Addressing a press conference at the party office in Barpeta, Talukdar revealed that during a meeting attended by Tripura's former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Bora had expressed his belief that there wasn't a capable Congress candidate for the Barpeta parliamentary seat and had suggested that CPIM field Manoranjan Talukdar.
“Bhupen Bora believed that there wasn't any capable Congress candidate for the Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency, so he suggested CPI (M) field Manoranjan Talukdar as a candidate for the Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency,” Talukdar said.
Taking a dig at the Congress candidate, Deep Bayan, Talukdar termed him a weak candidate and expressed confidence in Manoranjan Talukdar's popularity among voters.
Talukdar further announced that the CPI(M) would intensify its campaigning efforts, with leaders like Hannan Ali from the farmers' protest and Sitaram Yechury and Manik Sarkar set to appeal for votes in support of the Barpeta CPI (M) candidate.
