SHILLONG, Aug 27: TMC president and former Congress legislator Charles Pyngrope on Tuesday dismissed the notion that Congress is a fading force, pointing to the party’s significant vote share in the 2023 assembly elections.
“Irrespective of the number of seats, the vote share of Congress is quite high,” he said, insisting that the grand old party can bounce back and should not be underestimated.
“The NPP had only two members in the House once. Today, it has 31,” he pointed out to underline how fortunes can change.
Pyngrope dodged questions on the possibility of returning to Congress and said his focus as the state chief of the TMC is now on the by-election to the Gambegre seat.
He said the TMC’s strength was not tested after the 2023 assembly polls. “The reports coming to me from the constituencies indicate we are relevant in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills. I cannot speak of Garo Hills,” he said.
‘No dynastic politics’
The upcoming Gambegre by-poll has sparked a heated debate over the issue of dynasty politics, with both the NPP (National People’s Party) and the TMC (Trinamool Congress) fielding family members of leaders. While the NPP has nominated Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma’s wife, the TMC has chosen Zenith Sangma’s wife as its candidate, drawing mixed reactions.
Pyngrope, responding to criticisms that the TMC has been resorting to nepotism like the other parties, said, “People living in glass houses should not throw stones.”
Downplaying the choice of candidate, he said no one can stop a man or woman eligible to contest elections according to the Constitution even if he or she is related to an established leader. “In some cases, you can support them,” he added.
VPP chief, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit weighed in, saying the politics in the Garo Hills has been a family affair for a long time.
“In the Garo Hills, we cannot deny that the late PA Sangma and his children were MLAs and MP at the same time, and after his death, his children continued to fight for his legacy,” he said.
“It was personality politics in the Khasi Hills earlier. The VPP has changed the concept and a candidate’s merit and public appeal matter more now,” he said.
