Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee president Vincent Pala stated yesterday that many individuals who left the Congress Party in the past have now returned, citing cases in Umroi, Sohiong and Nongthymmai.
When asked whether Nongthymmai MLA Charles Pyngrope would also return to the party fold, Pala did not provide a clear answer. Pyngrope had defected to the Trinamool Congress in 2021 and was reelected in 2023 but the TMC has not made much of an impact in the state and his supporters are reportedly urging him to return to the Congress.
Pala said that while Pyngrope was an important Congress leader in the past, his supporters are equally significant.
“If we can secure the support of his followers, we could present a candidate as good as, or even better than, Pyngrope. If his supporters join us, we would welcome Pyngrope to return as well,” he added.
Pala noted that there is no pressing need for formal communication regarding this matter at present. However, he mentioned that he has personally visited Pyngrope for tea and coffee and often encouraged him to come back to the party.
Meanwhile, in a short interview with some reporters yesterday the All India Congress Committee member in charge of Meghalaya, A Chellakumar, also said that the party welcomes all to join but has not sent specific feelers to anybody.
“If someone wants to join our party we would welcome it, but we are not giving any invitation to anybody or running after them. I want all the Congressmen to come back to our party not only for the interest of the state but the country as a whole and those interested should come forward,” he added.
While he defended the Congress for working with the National People’s Party in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), he also took a dig at the NPP, saying that is has proven incapable, despite being a Bharatiya Janata Party ally, of getting the Khasi language included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
