SHILLONG, Jan 7: The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) is more of a threat to Congress in Meghalaya than the BJP unlike in West Bengal, the saffron party’s state unit president Ernest Mawrie said.
He also said the AITC will not fare any better in Meghalaya than it did in Tripura (civic body polls in 2021).
“The AITC is not a threat for us. They may be a threat for Congress and other political parties,” Mawrie said.
The BJP and the AITC have lately emerged as arch-rivals in the country following the downslide of Congress.
Mawrie said the BJP has no plans for a pre-poll alliance with any political party for the 2023 Assembly elections.
Despite the party’s poor performance in the 2003 and 2018 state polls, Mawrie is optimistic about the BJP doing well in 2023. “We have already started our groundwork for the polls,” he said.
“We are well organized now and have reconstituted 26 out of the 60 mandals,” he said, adding that the party organisation will be strengthened at all levels despite the challenges of COVID-19.
The AITC became Meghalaya’s principal opposition party overnight after former Chief Minister Mukul M. Sangma and 11 other MLAs switched over from Congress. Many are keen to see how it performs in the 2023 state polls.