EXCLUSIVE
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Meghalaya Trinamool Congress (TMC) will not field any candidate from Shillong Parliamentary seat.
The party Meghalaya Unit President, Charles Pyngrope has conveyed this message to the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leadership in Kolkata recently.
However, the decision to contest Tura seat will be taken only after the party completes its assessment and submit report by the end of this week.
Talking to Meghalaya News 24, the Meghalaya TMC President Charles Pyngrope said the reason for this is the vote share of the party was very small in the Khasi Jaintia Hills region and the chances are bleak.
“I have conveyed to Kolkata that we will not be able to field the candidate from Shillong seat because our vote share is very small, it won’t make a difference,” Pyngrope said.
Derek O’Brien visits Shillong
Asked about the recent visit of AITC leader Derek O’Brien to Shillong, the state TMC President said,
“His opinion was that we should field a candidate from Tura seat, so on that basis we have asked for time to ascertain the ground reality at the moment and to find if our base which was originally there for the 2023 elections is still intact.”
Asked, he informed that the party is at present studying the electoral prospectsin Lok Sabha polls in the state and will submit a report to Kolkata soon.
“After we get that report which was submitted in a day or two, then we shall inform the party high command about our decision,” he added.
If conditions are favourable then who will be the candidate will also be decided accordingly, he said.
“By this week we should have a clear picture,” Pyngrope added.
Derek O’Brien will once again visit the state and assess the report which will by then be submitted by the party on Tura seat.