SHILLONG, Feb 11: All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) state leader, Mukul Sangma on Friday claimed that the five Congress MLAs and the National People’s Party (NPP) are engaged in backdoor discussions and negotiations.
He said there is no clarity as to how these MLAs will position themselves in the days to come.
“I know all of them. I know what negotiations and discussions are happening. It is a fact that they have been engaged in a backdoor discussion with the NPP,” Sangma told reporters, responding to a query if he foresees the Congress MLAs joining the NPP.
“One can read between the lines. When you see their statement, there is complete lack of clarity as far as their position is concerned,” he added.
Stating that he was not surprised by their decision to support the government, Sangma said, “This is what happens when people are out of government. They do not find their role in the whole socio-political spectrum.”
He said the idea of politicians should be to serve the people and the state whether or not they are in the government.
“I have been watching and following their statements. They are confused and no one is guiding them. This is precisely the reason why this development has unfolded,” Sangma said about the Congress MLAs.
Their willingness to be a part of the government is only a reflection of their desperation to be in power but it does not happen just like that, the AITC leader said.
He claimed there are two political groups in the state – one aligned with the government and the other against it – and based on this, the political dynamics will unfold in the future, the end result of which will be seen in the 2023 Assembly elections.
“One group will have to accept the status quo and continuation of the same regime while the other will aspire for a change,” Sangma said.
He continued: “All political parties are together now except for only one (AITC). Even if all of them join the government, we want to bring in change for the people of the state.”
Speaking about the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, the former chief minister said: “The ruling dispensation is a product of the BJP’s political manipulation and although it is led by the NPP, it is virtually controlled by the BJP.”
Irrespective of what the two BJP MLAs and the other leaders of the party may say, the reality is that the BJP and the NPP leaderships are together, he added.
Won’t go back to Congress: Mukul
All India Trinamool Congress state leader, Mukul Sangma has made it clear that he is not going back to the Congress party.
“No, it is not necessary. We are looking at our responsibility towards the people and the state and the commitment that we have made to the people,” Sangma said in reaction to a query.
Making it clear that he has no priority other than serving the people to bring a change, Sangma said people in the state are suffering and they need to be given hope through opportunity.
Lamenting that the state is being destroyed, he said there must be somebody willing to save the state and give hope to the people so that people will align with the desire to be part of a collective thinking.
Sangma also downplayed reports that all is not well between AITC chief Mamata Banerjee and political strategist Prashant Kishor and that the AITC has called off its five-year deal with Kishor’s team I-PAC.
Whatever is being speculated is not based on facts and these are mere reports, he said.
As per media reports, the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has initiated discussions to terminate its agreement with poll strategist Prashant Kishor and his advocacy group I-PAC following chaos among a section of party leaders who were denied tickets for the upcoming municipal elections.
The relationship between the ruling party and the election strategist, hired by the TMC in 2019 following the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, turned sour after the candidates’ list for the civic elections was announced on Friday.
When party leader Partha Chatterjee was announcing the list, another list was uploaded in the party’s social media platforms, which is said to be monitored by I-PAC since 2021 – without Mamata Banerjee’s approval.