CM welcomes Marak to NPP, says there is tension within the AITC

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaFebruary 17, 2022

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday said more and more leaders will be joining the National People’s Party (NPP) in the coming days even as he alleged that there is tension within the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).

Welcoming the AITC MDC from Boldamgre Stevie M Marak along with his supporters to the party, Sangma said, “His (Marak) joining is very important and crucial for us as he has been a person who has worked in Ampati for many years.”

“Marak is also a leader of the AITC and this reflects that there are lots of uncertainties within the AITC as we speak,” he added.

The NPP national chief further claimed that lots of AITC leaders have contacted the NPP and expressed their willingness to join the party.

“We are confident that this is a process that will continue as we will see more and more leaders from different parts of the state joining the party in the coming days,” he said.

When asked, Sangma however said, “It’s not that we are trying to claim anything but we are getting positive response from the people…as people are showing faith in the NPP.”

According to him, people have seen the works of the MDA government and they are happy to support the NPP.

He reiterated that many leaders not only in Garo Hills but in Khasi-Jaintia Hills as well, are in touch with the party. “We are working hard to build up a good team,” he added.

Meanwhile, the chief minister said that they are seeing some cracks appearing in the AITC. “There is obviously tension within the party,” he said adding “To be very frank, there was always there in all parties is not like that but one has to manage things so we have to wait and watch how things go but definitely there seems to be some cracks appearing and we will watch and wait and watch and see how the situation unfolds.”

Stating that the NPP is working hard to open an account in South West Garo Hills district, Sangma said that Ampati is significant for the party.

“This is because in South West Garo Hills, there are four constituencies and NPP does not have a single MLA. Therefore, as a party we have been working very hard to find a way forward and as I said try to at least win a few seats there. We are hopeful that with the entry of strong leaders and elected leaders and other people also who are supporting us that we will be able to perform better than what we did because last time of course as I said we will zero in South West Garo Hills so we do hope that we’ll be able to definitely open our account and maybe get a few more numbers than what we thought.”