Former Umroi MLA for the Trinamool Congress George B Lyngdoh today quashed suggestions that he is planning on running for the Shillong seat in the Lok Sabha on a National People’s Party (NPP) ticket.
However, he did not shut the door entirely on the idea, saying that even if he were to contest next year’s general election, he would first consult his supporters and others close to him because a Lok Sabha campaign would be a huge one.
“As of now there have been no discussions with any parties and so I have not had a thought (about joining another party for the Parliamentary polls),” he said.
Sources close to the NPP, however, say that the party is keen on Lyngdoh running for the Shillong seat where the NPP hopes to unseat the Congress Party. One of those in favour of Lyngdoh, it is rumoured, is Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who took charge as state NPP president yesterday.
It seems possible that the TMC will see a haemorrhaging of members in due course after it could only win five seats in the Assembly elections earlier this year despite massive hype around it. Tagged as a Bengali party by its opponents, the TMC struggled to connect with the majority tribal electorate of Meghalaya and won just one seat in Khasi-Jaintia Hills.
Lyngdoh was one of the 12 Congress Party legislators who defected to the TMC in 2021 under the leadership of former Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma. Lyngdoh, however, lost his Umroi seat to the NPP’s political newcomer Damanbait Lamare.