In a surprise move, former Congress MLA Lalitesh Pati Tripathi recently joined Trinamool Congress (TMC) and is expected to steer the party's prospect in Uttar Pradesh, a state where it has no footprints. In an exclusive conversation with The Quint, Tripathi divulged details of his surprise move, role of political strategist Prashant Kishor and TMC's road map in the backdrop of assembly elections in UP in 2022 and Lok Sabha elections in 2024
Tripathi had resigned from Congress in September earlier this year. He was speculated to join the Samajwadi Party. Interestingly, SP had rendered unconditional support to TMC during the West Bengal Assembly Elections.
"When I was considering which political party to join, there were obvious choices that I could not be part of and there are few choices that I felt I could continue fighting essentially with my ideological leanings intact,"TMC leader Lalitesh Pati Tripathi said.
A battery of senior UP Congress leaders including Jitin Prasada, Harendra Malik and his son Pankaj Malik and Lalitesh Pati Tripathi have resigned from the party in the last 2-3 months. Tripathi, however, maintained his exit was not a knee jerk reaction to a fallout within the party.
"I don't think there was any tipping point that 'enough is enough' kind of situation came about. This was a long drawn process in myself where I felt that staying in the Congress was not an option for me. There is no particular incident or moment in the recent past which forced me to suddenly switch."TMC leader Lalitesh Pati Tripathi said.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)