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Meghalaya: 12 Cong MLAs join Trinamool making it main opposition
The development comes as Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday. “Why should we meet Sonia Gandhi every time? It is not constitutionally mandated,” Mamata said on being asked about her plans to meet Sonia Gandhi.
The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday claimed that 12 of 18 Congress MLAs in Meghalaya joined the Trinamool Congress making it the main opposition party in the state in a sudden and overnight development, delivering a major blow to the Congress. Former chief minister Mukul Sangma is one of them, reports said.
The development comes as Trinamool supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee met PM Modi on Wednesday on her New Delhi trip. On being asked about her plans to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Mamata said it is not mandatory to meet Sonia Gandhi every time she visits New Delhi. The Congress is busy with the Punjab election, Mamata said.
While the exodus of Sangma and his followers was not beyond speculation, the sudden development in Meghalaya, which will go to the polls in 2023, at a time when Congress is experiencing exodus in other states too is significant. Mukul Sangma has been expressing his resentment with the Congress for quite some time. However, every time it was speculated that Sangma would cross over to the Trinamool, he dismissed those speculations. On Wednesday too, Sangma reportedly denied to comment and said he would address a press meet on Thursday.
Kirti Azad has been the latest name to make the switchover from the Congress to the TMC following former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro and former Mahila Congress national president Sushmita Dev.
Before the major development in the northeastern state on Wednesday, Congress leader KC Venugopal said the crossing over of some of the leaders to Trinamool is a drama which will not be able to weaken the Congress. "We are not bothered about all these... If somebody is taking people from our party, it will not matter at all. If somebody is thinking that they can destroy the Congress one day, it will not happen. Many people have tried these kinds of things earlier also," Venugopal said earlier.
