SHILLONG, Feb 17: NPP national president and Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said cracks have appeared in the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and many of its leaders are in touch with his party.
“A lot of people are contacting us not just in Garo Hills. We are working to build a team for the good of the state,” he said on Thursday while reacting to unconfirmed reports that two AITC legislators from the Garo Hills were keen on joining the NPP.
The chief minister said he was not in a position to say if the AITC was disintegrating but “there are some cracks and tension” within the party. “We will wait and watch how things unfold,” he added.
Refraining from claiming that the NPP was getting stronger by the day, he said more people have been showing faith in the party because of its performance.
Sangma said he was hopeful that his party would open its account in South West Garo Hills in the 2023 Assembly elections with AITC member of district council, Steve M. Marak joining the NPP in Shillong on Thursday.
Marak represents the Boldamgre seat, which straddles the Assembly constituencies of Ampati and Mahendraganj.
“I welcome Marak and hundreds of his supporters to the NPP,” the chief minister said, referring to Marak as an important leader in Ampati.
Asserting that such joining is a process that will continue, he said: “We will see more leaders from different parts of the state joining the party in the coming days.”
Sangma said other elected members were expected to join the NPP in a week.
Ampati, he said, is crucial for the NPP to expand its footprint in the South West Garo Hills district that has four Assembly constituencies.
“We do not have a single MLA in this district and we are working to win a few seats,” he said.
Marak said the party workers were not consulted when the public representatives shifted from Congress to AITC. He said he took the decision to join the NPP since his workers were unhappy in the Trinamool Congress.