With the three autonomous district councils in the state largely dependent on the Meghalaya government for their funding, either directly or indirectly, MDCs and political parties are wary of supporting the Congress while it remains in opposition, Shillong MP Vincent Pala said.
Pala said this following last week’s election to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) where, despite finishing as the largest single party, the Congress was unable to stitch together a coalition and had to watch as the second-placed National People’s Party (NPP) went ahead and formed the executive committee with the support of practically all non-Congress MDCs.
“The fact that the Congress at the state-level is in the opposition, the other political parties are hesitant to be in coalition with the Congress, which might hinder the release of funds, etc from the state government,” the MP told Highland Post.
However, he opined that no alliance is sacrosanct in the district councils, which, unlike the Assembly, do not have an anti-defection law; an executive committee formed today can change tomorrow with the shifting loyalties of the politicians.
Stating that the Congress will adopt a wait and watch approach as to how the new EC runs the GHADC, he was of the opinion that there is little hope of good governance as the NPP-led Meghalaya government has not done a good enough job at the state level.
Meanwhile, there is one election at least where Pala is confident that no shenanigans can stop the Congress – that of the Mawryngkneng by-election, the date of which has yet to be announced.
“The combined vote share of the Congress and Highlander Kharmalki (who only recently joined the party) makes the Congress very strong in Mawryngkneng and if there are no major changes the party will surely retain the seat,” he added.
