AGARTALA, August 22 (TIWN): The delegation of Tripura Pradesh Congress headed by opposition leader Sudip Roy Barman who left the state on Thursday to meet AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi met AICC leaders for official approval of the candidate for forthcoming Manu assembly by-election.

Asked about discussions held at Delhi, PCC working president Ashish Kumar Saha said in a telephonic interaction this evening that the party delegates met AICC leaders to finalize candidates for the assembly by-election at Manu. He said that the meeting with AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi was
deferred due to pressing engagements of the national leader.

Tripura Pradesh Congress general secretary and current head of the Tripura royal family Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma is reported to have earlier met AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday. He urged Gandhi to suggest ways to the Tripura PCC to defeat the CPI (M) led Left Front in the coming ADC general elections.

“I told AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi that the ties with INPT were vital for our victory in the ADC election. I apprised him about our strategy to hold reconciliation talks with all political leaders and party members who left Congress in the past few years. He agreed to the proposal of proceeding with inclusive strategy involving all leaders and workers of the party to oust Left Front in the ADC
election”, Pradyot Manikya said.

The PCC general secretary further said that the assurance of more power to the Tripura ADC should have been fulfilled in the ten years of Congress-led UPA regime. “It was unfortunate that INPT snapped ties with us but we want to assure that their core demands of ADC empowerment and main goal of Congress for the autonomous district council are the same”, he stated.