NEWDELHI: The AICC observer Mukul Wasnik and the central party leader CP Joshi will arrive in Shillong on Sunday night to gauge the internal bickering within the Congress in view of the dissidents’ demand to remove the chief minister.
Sources said that Wasnik will have one-to-one meeting with the party legislators at the MPCC office on Monday.
Besides the legislators, Wasnik would also meet the MDCs, party leaders and leaders of the frontal organisations, sources added.
Interestingly, this will be Joshi’s second visit to Meghalaya after Congress president Sonia Gandhi handed him the additional responsibility as the party’s in-charge of the state and other northeastern states in place of V. Narayanasamy who took over as chief minister of Puducherry recently.
Though the loyalists of the Chief Minister are on a denial mode regarding the demand for change in leadership, there is an overall feeling among the party members that it will not be easy in 2018 to retain its position even as the single largest party.
Meanwhile, ruling out the possibility of change in leadership in the State, Lok Sabha member from Shillong Vincent H Pala has said that Wasnik is coming to Shillong to revive and strengthen the party in view of 2018 Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters in Shillong on Saturday, Pala denied the reports that the AICC is rushing the veteran leader to Meghalaya to gauge the mood of the party men and recommend remedial measures in view of the ongoing dissidence within the party.
Reacting to a query on the feelings of some Congress leaders who had opined that the party would have a tough time in 2018 polls, he said that there was still time of one and half year to prepare for the polls.
(With inputs from our reporter)
