Defections: Claims and counter claims continue, clear picture yet to emerge

SHILLONG: With the Assembly elections round the corner, claims and counter claims of sitting MLAs joining different political parties have come to the fore.
While there were media reports about the exodus of Congress members to BJP and NPP, the clear picture may emerge only in September when the Assembly will sit for the last time before the State goes to the polls.
Besides BJP and NPP, the newly launched People’s Democratic Front (PDF) has also claimed that the party will get a few sitting legislators and some MDCs in to its fold.
In the present House of 60, Congress has 30 members followed by UDP (8), HSPDP (4), NPP (2), NCP (2), the North East Social Democratic Party (1) and Independents (13).
In the likely exodus of sitting MLAs, the most affected party will be the Congress.
Anti-incumbency and dislike for the current leader are among the reasons which would compel the Congress MLAs, including ministers, to switch over to other political parties.
Moreover, sources in the Congress indicated that while other political parties are making preparations for the next Assembly polls, no collective efforts are seen from MPCC, other than individual efforts of launching several programmes by the chief minister.
Earlier, BJP State president Shibun Lyngdoh had said with the dwindling popularity at the Centre and anti-incumbency in the State, many legislators of the Congress are inclined to join the party. Similarly, media reports had said a few Congress leaders, including Prestone Tynsong, Sniawbhalang Dhar and his brother Ngaitlang Dhar, would join NPP though they had denied the move.
The trend suggests that the Congress would be the main target of the political parties, including NPP and BJP, which long to gain from the shifting allegiance of the MLAs ahead of the polls.
A Congress leader, however, said given the individual clout of MLAs over party affiliations, the win of these MLAs in the next polls will mostly depend on their individual charisma rather than the political parties which they would be representing.