With political parties gearing up for the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council elections scheduled to be held next year, the Congress in Meghalaya appears to be scripting a quiet but determined comeback. The party, which has received over 67 applications for just 29 seats in the GHADC, is witnessing a groundswell of interest as it prepares to reclaim its political turf in the Garo Hills region.
Amid this renewed momentum, Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Working President Deborah C. Marak has dropped a telling hint that several MDCs from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) may soon cross over to the Congress camp ahead of the polls. “We have 29 seats in GHADC but we received 60 plus applications seeking Congress tickets for elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council,” Marak revealed, suggesting a revived faith in the Congress platform among both party loyalists and potential defectors.
Keeping her tone measured yet loaded with implication, Marak said, “There are certain things in politics we must keep it secret, it is not proper to say, but Congress is gearing up for the District Council elections in Garo Hills.” On being pressed about reports of TMC MDCs switching allegiance, she responded, “Maybe they are reaching to us very soon. Those joining without any condition. Whoever joining from different political parties, we never say no to them.”
When asked whether former Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma remains “untouchable” to the Congress, Marak replied with a deliberate mix of restraint and intrigue: “We never said he is touchable or untouchable. In politics, everybody is touchable, but at the moment we don’t want to comment anything on Dr. Mukul Sangma.”
Meanwhile, Congress Secretary Manuel Badwar echoed growing optimism within party ranks, asserting that the political tide was shifting in their favour. “The mood of the public at large is definitely for us, which means the Congress definitely will revive no matter how much people talk, no matter how much people criticise against us, but the public is showing a different tangent altogether,” he stated.
Sounding a note of prudence, Badwar clarified that the Congress would not indiscriminately open its doors to everyone seeking entry. “We are moving forward and we are hopeful that many others will join. People joining the party doesn’t mean that we will allow everybody to join. We will filter out depending on the type of people joining the party,” he added.
As the GHADC elections draw nearer, the unfolding political drama in Garo Hills is fast turning into a suspense-laden prelude to Meghalaya’s broader political realignment — one where the Congress, once written off, now seems poised to re-emerge as the dark horse in the race for regional dominance.
