Cong stays rudderless, MLAs upset

SHILLONG, Aug 23: The delay in naming a full-time Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee president has upset many party MLAs.
A Congress MLA said the frustration within the party has been growing with the state elections less than two years away. The state Congress has been without a chief for weeks.
“The AICC cannot delay the matter anymore as every party has started preparing for the elections. Whether it is Charles Pyngrope or Vincent Pala, the high command should decide soon,” the MLA said, requesting anonymity.
He said a majority of the party MLAs are backing Pyngrope as the MPCC chief as he is a prominent face. He added that senior leader Ampareen Lyngdoh has backed out of the race and is supporting Pyngrope.
AICC’s Meghalaya in-charge Manish Chatrath had visited Meghalaya earlier this year to take the views of the party functionaries on appointing a new president after Celestine Lyngdoh, whose term expired last year. But the AICC is yet to finalise a name.
When contacted, Chatrath said the issue will be sorted out soon but declined to set a timeframe.
In contrast, the AICC was quick to appoint the Assam Congress president after Ripun Bora decided to quit, owning moral responsibility for the party’s electoral loss.