Meghalaya Congress to contest all 60 seats in 2023 assembly polls

Shillong: Despite having zero MLAs in Meghalaya assembly, the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) is confident and set to contest in all 60 seats for the 2023 assembly elections.

This was confirmed by All India Congress Committee (AICC) Meghalaya In-charge Manish Chatrath on Friday during a press conference.

Saying that there will be a lot of surprises in the next few months, Chatrath said, “The party has its own strategy in place. A lot of people are wanting to join, but as of now let’s keep it as a surprise. We will fight all 60 seats.”

Concerning reports of the party trying to bring back Dr Mukul Sangma, who joined the All India Trinamool Congress, Chatrath said neither him nor MPCC president are aware of this.

Asked if the Congress will be open to work with the TMC since political experts claim that no party will be able to achieve majority in the state, Chatrath said it was too early to say anything.

“As the oldest political party in the country, we are going to fight all 60 seats and we will ensure we get the majority,” said Chatrath.

Concerning the list of candidates, he said the AICC has a process wherein they have a Pradesh Election Committee at the state level, which then goes to the PCC and meetings will be held to shortlist names and then send it to the AICC.

The Congress expressed confidence in being able to revive the part despite having no MLAs after suspending the five remaining MLAs for supporting the MDA government.

The state incharge said the Congress doesn’t believe in money and muscle power. He said they believe in the power of people and the love of the people.

The 2023 elections will be a lot different than the previous ones. The Congress will have all fresh faces and educated candidates.

Another interesting factor for the upcoming elections is the performance of the All India Trinamool Congress. Rumours are rife that out of the 12 MLAs who left Congress, few of them are regretting their decision and are opting to join other political parties in the state. 

Asked about the face of the party for the 2023 elections, Chatrath said they will decide that when the election comes.

Meanwhile, MPCC president Vincent Pala said that he is preparing to contest the elections because he felt that as a president he should lead from the front. “As a party, we don’t decide who should be the chief minister before the elections. My decision to fight elections is not my decision alone; all the party leaders suggested that I should contest,” Pala said. 

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