Shillong, Dec 14: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and National People’s Party (NPP) have separately dismissed speculation about former Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma making the switch from the former to the latter.
Speculation has grown over recent days, with reports that Dr Mukul, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong (the latter two of the NPP) would all be in Delhi at the same time for talks.
Today the TMC said that the rumours of defection were “politically baseless” and “entirely false”.
The party stated that Dr Mukul had attended a TMC youth programme in his constituency of Songsak yesterday and is focused on holding the government accountable as Leader of the Opposition.
Reacting to a photograph going viral on social media the TMC said, “That photograph is certainly an amusing piece of digital manipulation, but politically baseless. The rumour is entirely false. Dr Mukul Sangma was on the ground in Songsak for the TMC youth programme yesterday (Saturday).”
The TMC added that he remains in Songsak attending church programmes on Sunday.
“He is not involved in any such meeting in Shillong or Delhi. Our leadership is focused entirely on the people of Meghalaya and holding the government to account, not on engaging with the wishful thinking of rival parties. We urge all media to report on verifiable facts, not edited content,” the TMC added.
The TMC received a jolt a few weeks ago after Zenith Sangma, Dr Mukul’s younger brother and a former minister, resigned to rejoin the Congress Party. That led to speculation that Dr Mukul would also follow suit but recent comments from the state Congress leadership and Dr Mukul himself seemed to have closed that door.
Meanwhile, the NPP has also denied the claims, stating that there has been no outreach to Sangma and no discussion about him joining the party. “There is absolutely no truth in these reports,” a senior NPP leader said, dismissing the speculation as unfounded.
An NPP leader said, “There had been no outreach from the party to Sangma, nor had the former Chief Minister approached the NPP regarding any change in political affiliation. The speculation is baseless and unfounded.”
The rumours have emerged at a time of heightened political activity in Meghalaya, particularly ahead of the upcoming Garo Hills Autonomous District Council elections.
Both Dr Mukul and Conrad are prominent leaders from Garo Hills and have long been viewed as rival contenders for Meghalaya’s top political post.
While the idea of the two leaders working within the same political fold may appear unlikely to many, political observers note that unexpected shifts are not uncommon in the state’s political landscape. With no clear route back to the CM’s chair, Dr Mukul may decide that those days are over and it is better to retain his seat in the Assembly by joining the NPP rather than fighting it.
It was also interesting that one his of recent comments suggested that it was the Congress Party leadership that insisted on dropping Tynsong and Sniawbhalang Dhar (now also Deputy CM and NPP member) from the cabinet; this may have been a way to subtly repair relations with Tynsong and Dhar, who in 2018 left the Congress for the NPP. Dr Mukul quit the Congress for the TMC in 2021.
Having Mukul in the NPP could also strengthen the party’s Garo faction at the expense of the Khasi-Jaintia clique. There are periodic rumblings about equal distribution of the Chief Ministership between the major tribal communities but, for now, Conrad holds ultimate sway over the NPP.
