SHILLONG:
The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has said that ahead of the 2023 polls, people who “love Meghalaya” and are keen on “keeping the interest of the state above everything else” are coming into its fold and that will go a long way in securing the party’s success in the polls.
“Educational and cultural personalities, social workers and people who really love Meghalaya and are keen on keeping the interest of the state above everything else are coming into the party’s fold, which means, we are getting the support and blessings of the people of Meghalaya,” said AITC in-charge Meghalaya, Manas Ranjan Bhunia, who met former chief minister Mukul Sangma and other state AITC leaders to discuss preparation of the party ahead of the 2023 polls, in Shillong, on Saturday.
Exuding confidence that the party will capitalise on the incumbent government’s “flaws” and perform well in the upcoming polls, Bhunia said that the National People’s Party-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government is “not positive” for the people of the state.
“The incumbent state government led by Conrad K Sangma has been functioning in a way which is not positive for the people of Meghalaya. As a team, we are confident – be it at the block , district, or the state level. Things under the leadership of Sangma and Charles Pyngrope are proceeding in a very good and receptive way, and we are getting good response from the people,” said Bhunia.
Highlighting the “flaws” of the MDA government, Bhunia also touched upon the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Meghalaya and Assam to resolve the border issue and alleged that “lands have been given to Assam against the interest of the people of Meghalaya”. He also brought up issues such as teachers’ salaries, economic development and the alleged push of the Centre to make Hindi mandatory in schools of the North East, to target the incumbent government. “That decision of the Centre to make Hindi mandatory will not be accepted by the people of North East,” Bhunia said.
The cabinet minister in the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, however, remained tight-lipped on whether the party will field candidates for all the 60 Assembly seats in the 2023 polls. “It will be decided later as the matter is the prerogative of AITC chairperson Mamata Banerjee and state leaders, Sangma and Pyngrope,” he said.
He, however, informed that apart from forming the state committee, the party has formed district committees in all the 12 districts of the state and soon, will be opening its state party office. “The party has also proceeded in a positive way towards forming block committees in the 60 Assembly constituencies,” he said.
The West Bengal cabinet minister, however, informed that party, for now, has slowed down its networking activities a bit as Sangma is busy with his son after the latter had a serious road accident in Bengaluru. “He (Sangma) is a little engaged in the treatment of his son. And after his recovery, which I am sure will happen within a few days, we will once again start our network operations. The district, block and other state leaders, including Pyngrope, on the other hand, are working tirelessly,” he informed.
Stating that the party relies on the support of the people to win elections, he said that use of money and muscle power to win polls have eroded the basic fibre of parliamentary democracy all over India. “We don’t fight polls using money or muscle in any state, but in a democratic manner and all our activities are aimed at garnering blessings and support of the people of that particular state,” said Bhunia.
On AITC being tagged as a “Bengali party”, Bhunia said it a “misleading term” raised by their competitors in the state. Citing how Congress was founded in Mumbai in 1885, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat and Delhi, AITC was founded in West Bengal, he said, “That doesn’t make it a Bengali party as it is as pan-Indian as the other two. There are terms coined to defame us. AITC here is a party of the Meghalaya people under the leadership of Sangma and Pyngrope. The party’s name reflects its characteristics and its position,” he said.