As the KHADC and JHADC elections draw closer, Congress is experiencing a notable increase in membership, with leaders from various political backgrounds joining its ranks. Congress Chief Vincent H Pala highlighted this trend during a meeting at Congress Bhavan in West Shillong, stating that the party’s appeal is strengthening as more individuals align themselves with Congress ahead of the polls.
Pala welcomed several new joiners, noting, “With the coming of the district council elections, many of them are also ready to fight the elections.”
Among those who recently joined the Congress are Gerrald Shullai, a former United Democratic Party (UDP) member, and Avner Pariat, who contested the 2023 Assembly elections from East Shillong on a Voice of the People Party (VPP) ticket. Pala also mentioned that a group from the Nongthymmai constituency, mostly comprising Trinamool Congress (TMC) members, and another from Umroi in Ri Bhoi district are set to join the Congress after the Gambegre bypoll.
On candidate preparation for the ADC polls, Pala said, “We have got candidates in 25 out of 29 constituencies (in KHADC). Another 4-5 seats, we need to get candidates, otherwise, we don’t have problems in getting candidates.”
He also mentioned that thousands of NPP and TMC supporters are joining the Congress, but clarified, “The joining is in the process, but we don’t organize a big function. Like other parties, whenever there is joining, they will bring people from all over the state, but we don’t do that. We do joining (ceremonies) in small areas. We want them to join in groups. Only genuine teams will join, not by bringing people and showing to the press and all.”
When asked about the perception of Congress, Pala stated, “That is a perception, and perception can always change from time to time. Politics is dynamic, but we should not depend on perception. We work as we have been working before. Like I said, the truth will always come. The same people, who told us they left the party because of this reason and that reason, have now come back to us. That’s the beauty of the Congress. We welcome anybody who comes back; we welcome them back.”
Pala also outlined Congress’s efforts to strengthen its organization, saying, “We have started organizing the party right from the block to the district level. We have done training for quite a few leaders. We had three days of training, and we are going to train many more leaders in Garo Hills.” He added that the training focuses on election procedures, the economy, and laws, aiming to equip leaders to organize effectively at the grassroots level.
Expressing optimism, Pala said, “As of today, I am quite confident and happy to see that in the Congress, there are new faces, new energy, and lots of new innovations. We have launched our new website, where people can join the party online. People can now join from anywhere in the world, from any part of Meghalaya, and any part of India.”