Form of words:
New Delhi: The Mamata Banerjee-led party on Wednesday said that 12 out of 17 Congress MLAs, including former chief minister and party veteran Mukul Sangma, have joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Meghalaya.
In a late night statement, the TMC said: “Twelve out of 17 Congress MLAs in Meghalaya, led by former CM Mukul Sangma, have joined the TMC. He has just formally submitted a letter to the Speaker in this regard.”
If the defection is officially confirmed, the TMC will become the principal opposition in the 60-seat Meghalaya Assembly.
The Indian anti-defection law allows two-thirds of the MLAs of one party in the assembly to join another without any disqualification. This means that these 12 MLAs will now be members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on the symbol of TMC.
Sources close to Sangma, who is leading the rebel faction, said he is expected to make the announcement at a press conference in Shillong on Thursday.
ThePrint reached out to the former CM for comment via call and message, but there was no response till the time this report was published.
Congress sources confirmed that Sangma and other MLAs who supported him have moved to merge with the TMC. The party is yet to issue an official statement.
Meghalaya Congress in-charge Manish Chatrath told ThePrint that he was on his way to Shillong to meet party functionaries to take stock of the situation. “We will be in a position to comment only after taking full details,” he said.
The ruling coalition in the state, the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), is led by the National People’s Party and its leader, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. The MDA, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), currently has 34 seats in the assembly.
The alliance won all three seats in the state in October’s bypolls, while the Congress’ strength in the House came down to 17 from 19.
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Sangma’s TMC move
Reports of talks between Mukul Sangma and TMC, run by party’s election strategist Prashant Kishor, had been doing the rounds since September, when Sangma and some of his MLAs were spotted in Kolkata.
In October, a team from the strategist’s political consulting firm, the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), was also sent to the state.
Sangma’s ties to the Congress were reportedly due to the appointment of Vincent Pala as Meghalaya Congress chief “without consultation” by the party high command.
Amid reports of rift and Sangma’s impending expulsion, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi met With the former CM and Pala in Delhi in early October, which was seen as the end of factional conflict.
Last week, Congress organizational in-charge KC Venugopal and Meghalaya in-charge Manish Chatrath held a review meeting with Sangma, Pala and other state unit members in New Delhi after the party’s massive bypoll defeat.
Sangma’s joining the TMC is a part of the party’s nationwide expansion effort, as it contests assembly elections in Goa and municipal elections in Tripura. Since its massive victory in the West Bengal elections, the TMC has preyed on leaders of other parties – mostly from the Congress – in states such as Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana.
Elections are to be held in Meghalaya in 2023.
(Edited by Amit Upadhyay)
Read also: Mamta met PM Modi, said- ‘Political differences should not affect Centre-State relations’
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