After three-day long 24th state conference of CPI (M), all 411 delegates from eight districts of the state on Friday unanimously elected incumbent state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury as new secretary for next three years and a state committee comprising 60 members has been constituted for the next three years.

Addressing a press conference at party headquarters at Melarmath area of Agartala, newly elected CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury along with senior party leaders Manik Dey, Ratan Bhowmik and Sankar Prasad Datta said that along with 60 members state committee, the 24 state conference has also unanimously elected two special invitee as both senior party leaders Narayan Kar and Pabitra Kar age above 75 years.

Giving details, Jitendra Chaudhury said that the Central Committee of the party has decided that those party leaders are above 75 years of age, will not given any responsibility for any committee and with a special provision of the constitution of the party and after approval from the politburo members including Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat and Ashok Dhawale, the state conference elected Narayan Kar and Pabitra Kar as special invitee members of CPI(M) state committee.

Similarly, former Chief Minister and incumbent politburo member Manik Sarkar, who has passed 75 years of age, but he is very active in politics with sound health, the state conference unanimously sought approval of party’s politburo for induction of Manik Sarkar as a active member of the CPI(M) state committee, said Chaudhury and the state conference has also accepted the proposal.

In the 60 member state committee, 14 committee members were also inducted in the party’s state secretariat with induction of two members including  former MP Sankar Prasad Datta and Ratan Saha of Sonamura were also inducted in the secretariat.

The 67-year-old Left leader Chaudhury, former Lok Sabha member and ex-minister, was first to become the Tripura state CPI (M) Secretary in 2022 and said that a 62-member state committee including seven women and a 14-member secretariat have been formed unanimously .

Chaudhury said that 40 party members have been chosen in the conference to attend the 24th CPI(M) party Congress, which will be held from April 2 to 6 in Madurai and two observers.

He said that despite the “conspiracies of the BJP government and the ruling party” thousands of CPI(M) leaders, members and supporters attended the public gatherings on January 29 which was organised as part of the state conference, which was held once in three years.

"We have alternatively sought permission from the police to allot any of the three venues to hold the public gathering on January 29 but the police did not give permission for any of the locations till January 27. They had given one after another an excuse for not allotting the venue," said Chaudhury, who is also the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state.

Chaudhury said the party had applied a month ago for permission to hold a public meeting at Swami Vivekananda Maidan Stadium in Agartala.

He said: "The state government denied the request, citing a pre-scheduled Self-Help Group (SHG) fair at the same venue and then we sought permission for another two venues but that too was also rejected. At the last moment the police gave permission in front of the Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan, which was a small venue for the mega public rally."

Speaking in the press meet, former minister Manik Dey said that the 24th state conference begun on January 29 with a mass rally at in Agartala, where party’s to leaders including coordinator of politburo, Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat and Ashok Dwale and Manik Sarkar addressed the gathering.

He said that during three state conferences from January 29 to 31st, altogether 411 delegates from eight districts participated and party leaders  had elaborate discussion over the next agenda to fight with BJP by strengthening their organization.

All left democratic forces will strengthen their movement with an aim to defeat the divisive forces in coming days, said Dey and added that the supporters of the party  organized their state conference  amidst continuous violence and rules of terror, which began immediately after the BJP came to power, even party was also denied democratic rights for a rally in grounds of Agartala. Manik Dey said that the state conference has finalised 9-point demands to launch a statewide movement soon.

The demands include scrapping the new Education policy, preventing atrocities against women, and declaring last year’s flood in Tripura as a national disaster.