By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 6: The Congress has further declined in Meghalaya politics under Vincent H Pala and a question is asked if he should step down as the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief owning moral responsibility of it.
The Congress, which once was a powerhouse in Meghalaya, is going through its worst phase. It all started when Pala had donned the MPCC chief’s mantle in August 2021.
The Congress had first lost 12 of its MLAs, including former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, in the same year when they merged themselves with the Trinamool Congress.
This was followed by the desertion of five suspended MLAs, who joined other parties ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. They were suspended for extending support to the NPP-led MDA government.
After the Assembly elections, many Congress MDCs in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) left the party and joined the NPP.
The final nail in the coffin was hammered by three MLAs – Celestine Lyngdoh, Gabriel Wahlang and Charles Marngar – when they joined the NPP recently.
The Congress has now been reduced to a single MLA, Ronnie V Lyngdoh.
A section of Congress leaders said, while requesting anonymity, that the MPCC chief should have stepped down immediately after the three MLAs had joined the NPP.
“We are surprised that he is still continuing. He should have realised that he had failed to hold the party together,” a Congress leader said.
He said the party needs a major revamp given that the elections in the KHADC and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council are just months away.
“The AICC needs to take some strong decisions. We need a new president to lead the party,” the Congress leader said.
MPCC working president Pynshngain N Syiem said there has not been any discussion on the issue of Pala’s replacement.
“I have nothing to say over the feelings of the section of party leaders that he (Pala) should step down,” Syiem said.
According to him, the MPCC chief is a party veteran who served as an MP for three consecutive terms.
Syiem said the AICC is yet to communicate anything on revamping the party.
Pala’s three-year term as the MPCC chief ended in August.