Has Charles Pyngrope failed to deliver as the President of the Meghalaya Trinamool Congress? That question looms large as the party, once seen as a rising political alternative, now appears paralysed by internal rifts, leadership inertia, and organisational decay. The growing divide between State President Charles Pyngrope and Legislature Party Leader Dr. Mukul Sangma has laid bare the deep dysfunction within the state unit of the TMC particularly Khasi and Jaintia Hills region. Once projected as a formidable alternative to the ruling dispensation, the TMC now stands weakened by inertia, internal drift, and visible leadership discord.
Dr. Mukul Sangma has openly hinted at Pyngrope’s failure to shoulder his organisational responsibilities, lamenting the lack of party structure in the Khasi–Jaintia Hills region. “In as far as the need to organise the party (TMC) in the state of Meghalaya is concern, in Khasi and Jaintia Hills region of the state, the party has not been organised to the level which was expected to be,” he said, adding that “the challenge of building any political organisation… has its inherent hurdles.” While Dr. Sangma acknowledged that the party remains comparatively stronger in the western Garo Hills, he underscored that in the eastern flank of the state, “we have not done our jobs.”
In a rare candid moment of political introspection, Dr. Sangma distanced himself from the internal functioning of the party, asserting, “I am the leader of the TMC Meghalaya Legislature Party; other than that I do not hold any post in the party. The President of Meghalaya Trinamool Congress in Meghalaya is my distinguished colleague, the legislator from Nongthymmai constituency Charles Pyngrope.” His remarks laid bare the organisational vacuum, as he further remarked that while he performs his legislative duties, he does not “infringe upon the domain of responsibility” of others.
The leadership tussle has been further accentuated by prolonged inactivity within the party’s state unit. Sources reveal that Pyngrope has not convened any major organisational meeting for months, deepening disenchantment among the rank and file. The once high-voltage entry of TMC into Meghalaya politics in 2021 — which saw a massive influx of Congress leaders — has now fizzled out amid resignations, defections, and internal paralysis.
The 2022 list of office bearers boasted several prominent vice-presidents — including James S. Lyngdoh, Zenith M. Sangma, Shitlang Pale, Marthon M. Sangma, H. M. Shangpliang, and George B. Lyngdoh — most of whom have since quit or become inactive. Shangpliang switched first to the BJP and later to the NPP, while George Lyngdoh resigned in December 2023 citing personal reasons. Today, only two vice-presidents — James Lyngdoh and Zenith Sangma — remain functionally attached to the organisation.
The decline extends further down the hierarchy. Among the General Secretaries, Dr. Manash Das Gupta has reportedly moved to Guwahati and become inactive, while Mukul Das is ailing. Once touted as the next big force in Meghalaya’s political landscape, the TMC now finds itself struggling for direction, with its top leadership caught between passive command and political disillusionment — a situation that leaves the party’s future hanging by a thread in a state where political equations shift fast and loyalty is a fleeting currency.
