Guwahati: In what may prove to a major setback for the Congress Party, more than seven legislators from ruling alliance in Meghalaya have sought an audience with BJP’s national president Amit Shah during his visit next month.
Though, the BJP has described it a ‘courtesy call’, the development has already surcharged the political atmosphere of the frontier state, which is schedule to go for Assembly elections in 2018.
Meghalaya BJP president Shibun Lyngdoh told this newspaper, “At least seven legislators from Congress, United Democratic Party and National Peoples party have approached me for an audience with our national president.”
He, however, quickly added that it would be too early to say that they want to join BJP. “You can say this is a request for a courtesy calls. They just want to meet our party president,” said Lyngdoh, who admitted that people are inclined to join the BJP in the Christian-dominated frontier state.
The BJP doesn’t have any representative in the present 60-member Meghalaya Assembly, although BJP had succeeded in opening its account in previous assemblies of Meghalaya.
The growth of saffron party in the northeastern states has created a furore in the ruling Congress in Meghalaya where a large number of its leaders may desert the party.
Fearing for an anti-incumbency setback in the forthcoming assembly elections, many Congress leaders are also said to have been looking for ticket from regional political parties.
The political observers felt that Meghalaya has been a very strong Congress bastion but chief minister Mukul Sangma has failed to keep the moral of the party workers. The speculations in local newspapers about Sangma, who has won from Ampati in Garo Hills for several terms, now searching for second constituency for himself has contributed to nervousness in the ruling party.
Meanwhile, the BJP is down playing Mr Shah’s visit to the frontier state saying he is visiting all the states in the country to understand the ground situation.
The BJP president was scheduled to visit Meghalaya on July 12 but it was cancelled due to his other engagements. His visit has been rescheduled for August, but the exact date has not been fixed so far.
