Barman is new Congress chief in Left-ruled Tripura

Agartala, April 21 (IANS) Three-time legislator Sudip Roy Barman has been named the chief of the Congress's Tripura state unit, sources said here Saturday. The new leader immediately vowed to oust the ruling Left Front from power.

"This is an enormous task that was bestowed on me. The responsibility to lead the party in the Left ruled state became all the more important because the state would go to the crucial assembly polls next year," Barman, an engineer-turned-politician, said.

Barman, 46, replaces former minister Surajit Datta as the president of the Tripura Pradesh Congress. Datta is a member of the Tripura legislative assembly. The announcement was made by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in New Delhi.

"An AICC communique was issued in New Delhi Friday night by party general secretary Janardhan Trivedi appointing Barman as the president of the Tripura party," a Congress spokesman told reporters.

Barman was elected to the state assembly thrice and also headed the party's youth wing for several years.

Barman said: "My top priority would be to unite all the leaders and party factions and go all out to oust the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front from the helm of affairs."