Shillong: In a media briefing in Shillong on Thursday, former Chief Minister of Meghalaya and the current leader of Opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Mukul Sangma has decided to quit the Congress Party and join the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after much consideration. He will be joined by 11 other MLA's of the Congress Party.
We have taken a decision to merge with the Trinamool Congress," said the former Meghalaya CM in Shillong.
"A complete sense of commitment towards serving the people has brought us to take this decision. In the 2018 Assembly elections, we were confident of forming govt but we could not. Again, post-poll there were activities to poach our members," he further added.
He directly pointed fingers at the Grand Old Party for his decision. He blamed Congress for failing to become a robust opposition party at the pan India level. The Congress has suffered many setbacks of late and it has resulted in the BJP gaining ground at the expense of the former. As a result, a strong alternative to the ruling BJP is lacking which often leads to the BJP going unchallenged.
Mukul Sangma and Charles Pyngrope said that they were not able unable to utilize their full potential as opposition by staying in the Congress Party.
According to them, I-PAC chief Prashant Kishore played an instrumental role in facilitating their switch to the TMC and credited him in sealing this deal.
Prashant Kishore is believed to be close to West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. He played a crucial role in Mamata's landslide victory in the recently concluded West Bengal assembly elections.
Meanwhile, Sangma attacked the ruling NPP-BJP alliance and criticized them by saying that the NPP is being installed by the BJP. He also highlighted the fact that both the alliance partners hit out at each other sometimes.
"We are here to fight against the divisive forces. Congress has failed as opposition. NPP is an ally of the BJP. So TMC is the only political entity that can counter the divisive forces," Sangma further added.
Also watch: