UP Congress Leaders Lalitesh Tripathi, Rajesh Pati Tripathi Join TMC

Former Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders Lalitesh Pati Tripathi and Rajesh Pati Tripathi joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Party on Monday, 25 October.

(Photo: PTI)

Former Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders Lalitesh Pati Tripathi and Rajesh Pati Tripathi joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Party on Monday, 25 October.

The politicians joined the TMC in Kolkata, in the presence of party supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Lalitesh Tripathi had previously served as the vice president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress.

"In a bid to use one form of extremism to fight another, the (Congress) party compromised on the valuable principles that Gandhi and Nehru propagated and left behind. This brought about a split in the psyche of the party, which understandably left the cadres and workers confused," Tripathi noted in a press statement released upon his joining the TMC.

"I felt that in my quest to continue to serve the people and society without compromising on my ascribed political ideology, the Trinamool Congress and the able leadership of Mamata-ji offers the only viable place where I can continue practicing my beliefs," he added.

The TMC has seen the influx of a large number of political leaders in the recent past.

In September, former Goa Chief Minister and Congress leader for over 40 years, Luizinho Faleiro, had joined the Trinamool Congress.

He, along with nine others from Goa – a mix of politicians and civil society members – had joined the TMC as the party enters the electoral fray in Goa, ahead of elections in the state in early 2022.