Disgruntlement among MLAs is a ‘present continuous tense’: Mukul
SHILLONG: Will Chief Minister Mukul Sangma effect a cabinet reshuffle to prevent any demand for a change of leadership?
A question was asked on Thursday during the news conference on whether he would effect a cabinet reshuffle, and the reply was that he was not supposed to reveal anything in this regard to the media.
He, however, admitted that there was disgruntlement among the legislators in the past and added that it is a “present continuous tense”.
The plan to effect a Cabinet reshuffle can be seen as a move to quell the dissidence among the legislators and also to prevent the Opposition NPP and UDP from taking mileage out of the unrest in the State Congress.
NPP state president W. Kharlukhi recently said that the Chief Minister should resign for the poll debacle or else he would be thrown out by his own party legislators.
Though over confidence and straight contest were cited as the reasons by the Chief Minister for the defeat of the Congress candidate from Tura in the Lok, Sabha polls, his critics believe that wrong choice of candidate was one of the reasons.
The AICC had initially cleared the name of Zenith Sangma, the cabinet minister and brother of Chief Minister to contest Tura seat, but later Daryl Momin’s name surfaced.
Moreover, Momin was inexperienced and too young to take on the veteran leader PA Sangma.
A party source said that the Cabinet Minister Deborah Marak would have been a better choice as she could reduce the margin of Agatha Sangma to just 17,945 votes during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
In 2009 Deborah was a not a legislator as she had unsuccessfully contested Williamnagar Assembly seat in 2008.
The Chief Minister, however, downplayed the age factor in contesting the election by saying that when Agatha contested the Tura seat for the first time in 2008 by election, she was 26 years.
Though the Chief Minister continues to deny his role in going against the official candidate for Shillong seat Vincent Pala who,however, won the election despite all odds , the fact that AICC is seeking reports about infighting as far as Shillong seat is concerned, speaks otherwise.
Moreover, soon after the election, the loyalists of Mukul including some cabinet ministers had predicted a win for the Independent candidate PBM Basaiawmoit who was the rival of Pala.