Shillong, May 24: With Assembly elections just over 7-8 months away, the opposition is yet to get its act together as it has been revealed that the Trinamool Congress, which boasted of 12 MLAs has been reduced in number ‘unofficially’. This was revealed by none other than the Leader of Opposition and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leader Mukul Sangma.
“Out of 17 MLAs, only 12 are (now) in the opposition and technically these 12 have (also) been reduced unofficially,” Sangma told reporters here on Tuesday, hinting that some MLAs will jump to other parties right before the elections.
At the same time, he said he had tried to provoke the conscience of the “friends who are in the coalition” on the mis-governance under the present dispensation, but apparently it hasn’t worked out well.
He, however, warned that if the MDA coalition partners need to decide to move out from the coalition otherwise the people will decide for them. “Therefore, if they don’t decide now, the people will decide, that is the only silver lining and this is the beauty of democracy,” he said.
Whether he would approach former colleagues to come back, Sangma said, “It is very important for us to know who’s who. Once bitten twice shy. So we have to be very practical as when you are building a team, a team who is committed to shoulder the kind of responsibility, a team which is capable of insulating itself from all the kind of external forces be it in the form of inducement and other things, unless you are able to have that kind of a team, you will always have a situation which you have witnessed in 2018. You will always have a situation you have witnessed in the case of Manipur and in many other states – that is the trend that is going on.”
“Therefore, there has to be a new approach wherein people will have to be sensitized and made to really be aggressive in participation to look at a team which they can trust in the best interest of the people and the state, a team which will look into the interest of the state and its people and a team which is capable of insulate from all kinds of forces which are vitiating the environment,” he said.
