By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 17: The state BJP neither confirmed nor denied reports that former chief minister Mukul Sangma and other Trinamool Congress leaders have been discussing with the party’s higher-ups to join the saffron camp.
“I will neither agree nor deny (such reports). I will disclose everything when the time comes,” state BJP president Rikman Momin told The Shillong Times on Friday.
“Anyone can join us from any party. All are welcome,” he added.
There have been reports of a move by the state TMC to merge the BJP although state TMC president Charles Pyngrope and Sangma discounted such a possibility. Sangma is the TMC’s parliamentary party leader.
A vernacular daily claimed four TMC legislators were desperate to change their political fortunes by joining the BJP bandwagon.
Sangma is said to have initiated the merger move. Informed sources said his bête noire and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had the move short-circuited through his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, also the BJP’s top strategist in the region.
Meanwhile, the BJP is yet to constitute its new executive committee since Momin took over as the state party chief.
“The list has been sent to the party high command. I am waiting for the approval,” the state BJP president said.
Asked if he is going to revamp the executive committee, he said, “It depends on the central leaders.” Momin said the party’s election committee is prepared for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “This committee is already in place and only some office-bearers will be changed,” he said.
A dissident group in the party which was vocal about the removal of Ernest Mawrie as the state BJP president, has been questioning the delay in the announcement of the names of the new state office-bearers and executive members. The group has also been seeking the removal of the party unit’s treasurer, Sarvan Jhunjhunwala.
Some party leaders who did not wish to be named said they are eagerly waiting for the removal of Jhunjhunwala as he has been holding the post of treasurer since the tenure of Shibun Lyngdoh. They added that the two BJP legislators also want him removed from the treasurer’s post.
“If central leaders have a three-year tenure as office-bearers, how can he continue to hold the post for so long? After the election results, Mawrie and Jhunjhunwala should have resigned owing moral responsibility but they wanted to flex their muscles to retain their posts,” a party leader said.
The dissidents said they would start a signature campaign if Jhunjhunwala is not removed.
One of the dissident group members said the central leaders should survey and seek the state leaders’ opinion before appointing the new treasurer.
He said the central leaders did not interfere much in the affairs of the party units in the small states until 2014. “There is less interference in the bigger states,” he said.