Agartala, Aug 21: In a major setback for the opposition Congress in Tripura its state President Pijush Biswas resigned from the party on Saturday and announced to quit politics “for the time being”.

Biswas, a renowned lawyer, quit the Congress six days after the All India Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev left the party and joined Trinamool Congress (TMC) on August 16.

“I will be out of politics for the time being. I have sent my resignation letter to the Party President (interim) Sonia Gandhi today (Saturday),” said Biswas, who was appointed Tripura state President in December 2019 after the former state chief quit the party.

Dev told the media in Silchar that she and Biswas over phone have discussed the Congress’ weak organisational matters and Tripura politics.

Congress sources said Biwas was annoyed as the party high command did not constitute or did not allow the state leaders to reconstitute district and block level organisational committees despite repeated requests.

“After 2016, the district and block level committees were either defunct or inactive. Several state committee leaders were also not active,” a senior party leader said on the condition of anonymity.

Former Tripura state Congress President and Royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barmanm, who was also known to be a close friend of Rahul Gandhi, had quit the party in 2019 over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) issue and he subsequently formed a tribal based party ‘TIPRA Motha’.

Biswas is the fifth important Congress leader in the northeastern states of Assam, Manipur and Tripura  to quit the party in the last three months.

Four-time Congress legislator and prominent Assam tea garden leader Rupjyoti Kurmi and two-time Assam Congress MLA Sushanta Borgohain had recently deserted the party and joined the BJP.

In Manipur, state party president, Govindas Konthoujam, a six-time MLA and former Minister in the Congress led government, resigned from the party and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party last month.