SHILLONG: The rift in the Congress following the party’s embarrassment in Williamnagar is widening with the East Garo Hills District Congress Committee blaming Deborah Marak for the drubbing. In its memorandum to the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee, the district unit said a sense of antiincumbency was growing among party workers at the grassroots level in the region after they failed to convince Marak to take corrective measures and meet leaders at the block level. “Complete disregard and insensitivity of the MLA towards the party workers resulted in their slow but EGH District Congress blames Deborah for loss steady demoralisation,” the report said and added that the disgruntled members had decided to approach senior authorities on the matter. The submission also said though block and district level leaders had convinced two independent candidates from withdrawing nomination, Marak queered the pitch by not meeting the mediators.
Marak neither condoled NCP candidate Jonathone Sangma’s death nor met the bereaved family, giving opponents the opportunity to spread canards, it added. However, as per media reports on February 19, Deborah condemned the incident and demanded a CBI probe. The district unit defended CLP leader Mukul Sangma and said Marak left the constituency after the election was countermanded and came back only two weeks before repolling but many local leaders had by then sided with rebel candidates. There are also allegations that Marak did not meet party leaders and MLAs and leaders from other districts had to go back without meeting the candidate.
The submission maintained that no permission for meeting was taken for the CLP leader, who was in Tura waiting to confirm a date. “On April 24, when the CLP leader was to address three meetings, only one meeting was arranged that ended at 3 pm and the CLP leader waited for other programmes which never happened as no permission was taken for the remaining programmes,” the submission added. Marak had alleged that Sangma held only one meeting in the constituency and did not campaign enough for her. The district unit blamed Marak saying Sangma was made to wit the whole time on the last day of the campaign when two meetings were scheduled. Around 4pm, Sangma had no other option but to address a small gathering of party workers at Marak’s residence