Shillong, Nov 5: The Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has taken a swipe at the ruling National People’s Party (NPP), accusing it of attempting to strengthen its political position by attracting legislators and elected representatives from other parties, including those belonging to the ruling coalition, ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.
Tura MP Saleng A Sangma questioned the NPP’s repeated efforts to bring leaders from rival political parties into its fold, saying the developments had raised doubts about the party’s internal management and its relationship with its own legislators and coalition partners.
Responding to questions about whether the ongoing political movements pointed towards divisions within the NPP and whether some of its MLAs might eventually join the Congress before the 2028 elections, Sangma said he would not speculate on the decisions of individual legislators.
“At this juncture, I cannot speak for anyone. It is their free will,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Sangma questioned the ruling party’s continued efforts to attract MLAs and MDCs from different political organisations, particularly when some of those being approached were already part of the governing arrangement.
After Sangma won the parliamentary election in 2024, the Congress’ strength in the state Assembly was reduced to four MLAs. All four subsequently joined the NPP. Then, last month, three MLAs of the allied United Democratic Party (UDP) joined the NPP; the UDP this week decided to split from the NPP. And yesterday, three MDCs of the Trinamool Congress also joined the NPP.
“I cannot say whether there is a crack or not. But the way the NPP is trying to handle its own people, it raises questions. They are desperate. Why are they poaching every MLA or MDC? They are even poaching MLAs from within the same government. You can understand from the nature of the movement itself,” Sangma remarked.
The Congress MP also questioned the NPP’s approach towards leaders who had joined the party from the Congress in the past but were not considered for cabinet positions.
Referring to UDP leader Paul Lyngdoh’s recent entry into the NPP and his subsequent induction into the cabinet, Sangma twisted the knife by expressing sarcastic disappointment for the “unequal” treatment of former Congress MLAs who have not been awarded berths in the cabinet even though they had joined the NPP much earlier than Lyngdoh.
