By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 17: The Trinamool Congress’ state leadership is awaiting a nod from party high command to nominate candidates for the Lok Sabha elections but the latter is holding off, in anticipation of a decision of the INDIA bloc on fielding common candidates.
TMC’s Meghalaya president Charles Pyngrope on Sunday said the party’s state leadership has not yet received a clear-cut direction.
“I am in constant touch with the high command and general secretary in-charge Abhishek Banerjee. It is just that they have not given us a clear-cut direction till date for the Lok Sabha elections,” Pyngrope said.
The state leaders have already made their intention clear to the party’s top brass that they want TMC candidates to contest from both seats – Shillong and Tura.
Pyngrope said the TMC will “have to follow” if the INDIA bloc decides on fielding common candidates.
Asked about party biggie and former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma’s statement that TMC would want to field its own candidates, Pyngrope said, “Naturally. It is always the interest of the party in the state to field its own candidates but since we also have a higher authority that will make the ultimate decision, we can voice our opinions and stand on that.”
Earlier, Sangma had said, “The whole talk about the INDIA bloc, and TMC being a part of it; there is natural expectation that we must wait until a decision is made but we have felt that it is necessary from the state side to indicate that we would like to have a candidate and we must have.”
The TMC state chief claimed that there is no trouble in the party’s state unit.
To a query, Pyngrope denied he is returning to Congress. He said nobody has approached him. He said he will stay in the TMC as the president.
