New Tripura Congress chief appointed

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Dutta, 61, replaces former chief minister Samir Ranjan Barman.

"An official letter signed by AICC (All India Congress Committee) general secretary Janardan Dwivedi received here Thursday night confirmed that party President Sonia Gandhi has appointed five-time MLA Surajit Dutta as Tripura party chief," Congress spokesman Tapas Dey told reporters here.

He added: "To strengthen the party organisation against the ruling CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist)-led Left Front, Sonia Gandhi appointed a new party leader in Tripura."

Dutta said his first and foremost priority would be to revamp and strengthen the Congress, starting from the grassroots level.

Last month, seven of the total 10 Congress MLAs, including party legislator Ratan Lal Nath, asked Gandhi to oust Barman, alleging massive irregularities in the organisational election and non-functioning of the party in the state.