SHILLONG, Nov 28: MPCC general secretary, Deborah C. Marak on Sunday admitted that the desertion of all the nine MLAs from the Garo Hills region to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been a setback to Congress.
“But the big question is whether or not the common people of the Garo Hills region will follow the TMC. Congress, NPP and even NCP have got their own vote banks. But the TMC is very a new party and they will have to start from ground zero,” she told The Shillong Times.
Marak said even the late PA Sangma had faced difficulty in popularising the NCP when he had deserted Congress.
“It is up to the people to decide if they will vote for the new party. The power to win the elections does not lie with the TMC,” she said.
The MPCC general secretary said it is really unfortunate that the nine MLAs had not bothered to inform the Block Congress Committees (BCCs) or District Congress Committees (DCCs) of the four Garo Hills districts about quitting. “The sudden decision to leave the party was a shock for all of us,” she said. Stating that the BCCs in all the 24 constituencies are still intact, Marak said they will start the process of revamping and strengthening the party soon. She said she has a huge responsibility since she is now the face of Congress in the Garo Hills.
“I have already planned a tour in January next year to visit all the 24 constituencies in Garo Hills region with State Congress chief, Vincent H. Pala. I hope my long experience with the NSUI, Youth Congress and state Mahila Congress would help me reorganise the party from the grassroots level,” Marak said.
The first step for them would be to fill up the vacant posts of all the BCCs and DCCs.
“We will have to assess how many of the party supporters have followed the 12 deserter MLAs. We will find out how to move forward to rebuild and strengthen the party once things settle down,” she said, adding party leaders at the BCC level have been asked to analyse the situation and submit reports.
“We are running against time since with just over a year left for the Assembly general elections,” the MPCC general secretary said.
She said there are encouraging signs since many former leaders have sent feelers that they would like to return to Congress. They include Augustine D. Marak, F.W. Momin, Atul Marak and Rophul S. Marak.
She said they are also trying to reach out to NCP president and Gambegre legislator, Saleng A. Sangma to return to the party. “It will be a huge boost if the former leaders return to the party, whether or not they contest the next Assembly polls. I will never be alone if I have their blessings,” MPCC general secretary said.
‘Mukul nothing compared to PA Sangma’
Marak said former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma “is nothing” compared to former Lok Sabha Speaker, the late P A Sangma in terms of stature.
“We may recall that the late P A Sangma had managed to win the Tura Lok Sabha seat whether he contested from Congress, NCP, Nationalist Trinamool Congress and NPP. The people of Garo Hills consider him the tallest leader of the region,” she said.
She recalled neither Mukul Sangma nor anyone from his family had managed to win the Tura Lok Sabha seat despite several attempts.
“I had managed to garner more votes compared to his entire family when I had contested the MP election from Tura,” the MPCC general secretary said.
She said Mukul Sangma was able to become the chief minister for eight years due to the platform provided by Congress. He owes his image to Congress, she added.
