Strengthen party in NE, Sonia tells Lapang

New Delhi: Hoping to retain its last bastion, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has directed the  Meghalaya Congress president DD Lapang to strengthened the party in the region through the North East Congress Coordination Committee.
She told Lapang, who is the Chairman of the NECCC to invigorate the party from the grassroot level to face the next polls be in assemblies or Lok Sabha.
The party is in power in five of the eight NE states – Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Aruanachal Pradesh, the biggest in any other region of the country.
She had one to one meeting with the former Meghalaya Chief Minister on Friday.
In case of Meghalaya, the AICC supremo asked Lapang to work vigorously for the ongoing membership drive which ends this month. “The party should expand its base as far as possible since others are making inroads in the region once dominated by Congress only,” she said.
She also urged the MPCC chief to ensure that the party remains united in Meghalaya and other states to face the onslaught of  BJP and regional parties.
Lapang is likely to meet the party vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday.