SHILLONG: The Congress on Wednesday said that all its MLAs are intact and there is no room for any legislator to leave the party prior to the 2018 Assembly polls.
The party said it is also keen to give tickets to all the sitting legislators.
There were media reports in the past that several Congress ministers and legislators will quit the party by September to contest from other political parties.
However, speaking to The Shillong Times on Wednesday, MPCC working president James Lyngdoh said that as per his information, all the Congress legislators are intact.
“I have not heard anything regarding our legislators leaving the party,” Lyngdoh said.
According to the Congress leader, the party is committed to giving tickets to all the sitting legislators.
He said before inviting applications from candidates for the 2018 polls, the current focus of the Congress is to strengthen the party at the grassroots level by organising a series of meetings at the block level.
At the government level, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has already launched various programmes and opened civil sub divisions and blocks ahead of the polls primarily to give an impression that his Government is here to stay.
The critics have seen it as last ditch effort of the Congress government, which is facing anti-incumbency, to be in power again.
However, the plan of NPP to capture power by roping in several sitting legislators prior to the polls and the UDP-HSPDP alliance coupled with the move of BJP to contest in all the 60 seats may pose hurdles for the Congress to retain power.
