TMC unlikely to contest ADC polls

SHILLONG, Dec 18: The Meghalaya Trinamool Congress is unlikely to contest the upcoming KHADC and JHADC polls on February 21. The decision has been fuelled by two specific reasons – the party’s lack of vote share in the tribal belts of Khasi-Jaintia Hills and the lack of communication from the party’s high command.
“In the Khasi and Jaintia Hills the TMC does not have any hold and our vote share in the tribal belt is very limited,” TMC president and Nongthymmai legislator Charles Pyngrope said on Wednesday.
Asked if the decision to not contest the polls is final, he said, “I have not been told by the high command whether I can or cannot put up candidates for the district council polls.”
“I don’t see anyone seeking to contest from our party for the ADC polls in Khasi and Jaintia Hills, but if anybody wants to contest from our party then we may have to change our decision,” he added.
The TMC’s decision to skip the district council election is going to be yet another setback for the party which has seen its fortunes shrink since its dismal performance in the 2023 assembly polls. The party has been facing a significant exodus of grassroots workers and leaders to other political parties.
The State Congress recently claimed that as many as 1,500 workers from the Nongthymmai constituency, represented by the TMC chief, have decided to join its ranks.
Pyngrope has already acknowledged growing pressure from party workers to align with the State Congress, further complicating the TMC’s position in Meghalaya.
Meanwhile, the UDP on Wednesday asserted that its association with the NPP in the ruling MDA 2.0 coalition will not have any bearing on the outcome of the district council polls.
“Issues of the state government and the district council are totally different and it won’t affect us,” UDP working president Titosstarwell Chyne said.