Amid murmurs of internal churn ahead of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council elections, Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee president Vincent H Pala dismissed speculation of a mass exodus from the party, asserting that the Congress remains organisationally intact and election-ready. With the party deciding to contest all 29 seats on its own, the Congress leadership is projecting the move as a calculated strategy to consolidate its base in Garo Hills and capitalise on what it views as renewed political momentum following the Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing concerns over recent resignations, Pala maintained that the developments were limited and largely linked to ticket aspirations rather than any structural crack within the party. “No mass resignation from Congress, definitely there are some resignation because some of them they are aspirants for the party ticket for elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council. Many of them they were in NPP they went to the congress and they applied for ticket, do the perception is that they may not get tickets because there was a meeting in the block and when Congress recommends candidates, it has to be recommended first by the block congress committee then come upto the district and from district come to the state, so the block committee meeting did not recommend their names, so the perception is that they may not get the ticket, so they left,” The state Congress chief said.
He underscored that the Congress has completed all procedural formalities and is only awaiting the official poll notification to unveil its candidates, signalling confidence in its preparedness. Drawing a sharp contrast with the ruling party, Pala said, “Congress is always there on the ground, we are working very hard and that’s why we said we have finalized all the formalities and only we have to select candidates and once they announced elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council then we will declare our candidates also. We are fully prepared for the elections. I think NPP today is in the backfoot, they are nervous. We have seen one minister giving one statement and the other Minister gives another statement, so there is no unity amongst them and that is the sign, but congress we are fighting elections with one voice, except here and there definitely it’s a big party,” Pala added.
With the Congress choosing to go solo in all 29 constituencies, the battle lines in Garo Hills appear sharply drawn, setting the stage for a high-voltage contest that could redefine the political equations in the autonomous council.
Vincent Pala Dismisses ‘Mass Exodus’ Buzz, Says Congress Ready to Fight All 29 GHADC Seats Alone
