 during a meeting chaired by the chairman of the screening committee Rana KP Singh, who is a former Punjab Vidhan Sabha speaker, at Rajiv Bhavan, Guwahati.){kind=link}
SHILLONG:
The Screening Committee constituted by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Monday cleared the name of sitting Shillong MP Vincent H Pala and three-time Gambegre legislator Saleng A Sangma from Tura parliamentary constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The names of Pala and Sangma were submitted by the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) during a meeting chaired by the chairman of the screening committee Rana KP Singh, who is a former Punjab Vidhan Sabha speaker, at Rajiv Bhavan, Guwahati.
Speaking over the phone, Congress chief Vincent H Pala informed that only he and Saleng have applied for the party ticket from the two parliamentary constituencies.
“Accordingly, today we have submitted the two names to the screening committee, which has cleared the same. The names will accordingly be officially declared by the central election committee (CEC) of the party,” he said.
Asked about the prospect of the Congress in Meghalaya, Pala expressed confidence to retain the Shillong parliamentary seat. “There are too many candidates in the fray, I should be able to manage it,” he said.
Whether the party will be able to unseat the NPP in Tura, the sitting MP however said, “I think it is too early to say so. We need to work hard and we hope that we will do well (from there).”
Stating that the Congress is gearing up its preparation, Pala however slammed the other political parties for poaching leaders of the party.
“Other parties are poaching our leaders. Recently, they bought our MDC. They are poaching the leaders because they know there is no alternative (except the Congress),” he said while adding that they (other political parties) may get the leaders but not the voters.