Shillong, Nov 2: The lotus may have poached eight, NPP grabbed three – and now it’s TMC’s turn to bleed.
After scripting the collapse of Meghalaya’s oldest regional party UDP, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma is marching into Garo Hills. At least three sitting TMC MDCs from Garo Hills Autonomous District Council will dump Mamata’s party and wear NPP’s yellow on November 4.
CM himself confirmed the switch today. “Three sitting MDCs from TMC are joining us on November 4. Let us talk about that on that day,” Sangma said, with a smile that said more than words.
Sources say the big catch is Cherak W Momin of Kharkutta known as Mukul Sangma’s right hand and TMC’s key organiser in Garo Hills. With him are Balachanda MDC Agassi R Marak and Alphonsush R Marak – three strongmen who control crucial vote banks in GHADC.
The timing is razor sharp. GHADC polls are round the corner, and snatching MDCs from under Mukul Sangma’s nose is a direct strike at TMC’s last bastion. TMC, which overnight became main opposition in 2021 after 12 Congress MLAs led by Mukul joined it, is now down to just five MLAs. Losing MDCs means losing ground connect.
Asked if TMC MLAs are next on the joining list, Conrad played coy – “Are you speaking on their behalf? No communication has come to me. Wait and watch.”
But watch they will. In last one month alone, UDP has been reduced from 12 MLAs to one – Metbah Lyngdoh, who quit cabinet on Oct 31. Eight went to BJP, three – Paul Lyngdoh, Renikton Tongkhar and Nujorki Sungoh – to NPP, taking NPP’s own tally to 36. Today Paul was sworn back as minister at Lok Bhavan.
Now with TMC MDCs queuing up, message from NPP headquarters is loud – in Meghalaya, all roads lead to NPP.
