Shillong: Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) working president PN Syiem said on Friday that he does not expect any of the party’s sitting MDCs to defect to another party before the district council elections scheduled for next year.

Syiem rejected rumours that some party MDCs would defect to the NPP, saying that the Congress is currently the only alternative party in the state and that he does not see anyone taking the risk of jumping to any other party.

He said that many people are closely monitoring the results of the upcoming Assembly elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana.

If the party does well in the elections in these states, there is a chance that many will request the Congress ticket to run in the next district council election, Syiem said.

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Syiem also responded to reports that certain MDCs, such as Batskhem Ryntathiang, the party’s sitting MDC from Mairang, may join other political parties.

He said that he does not know if Ryntathiang will leave the party because he attended the party meeting recently.

Syiem added that it is difficult to predict whether someone will join other parties because the district council does not have an anti-defection policy.

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Syiem revealed that numerous leaders from the Khasi-Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills regions had approached the party to express their interest in running for the Congress.

He asserted that even if one or two MDCs leave the party, many others have also called him to join the party ahead of the elections.

Syiem also said that the party has not yet started the application process for party tickets. He believes that the Congress does not need to move quickly because it already has a sound system of party organisation down to the local level.

Prior to this, MPCC president Vincent H Pala had declared that the party is prepared for next year’s MDC and Lok Sabha elections.

He said that the party is ready to take on the challenge, whether the election is held in February or at another time.

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Pala added that the party will also be writing to all the blocks to expedite the process of forwarding their recommendations for candidates to the KHADC and the JHADC for the next elections.

Pala said that the process of selecting candidates actually begins in November and a list is created in December.

The candidates are then announced in conjunction with the election results. He said that the state election committee and district election committees are still in place and will soon select the candidates.

Pala said that the MP and MDC elections will use the same candidate selection procedure. He added that the party has no objection to MLAs contesting ADC elections, so long as the rules allow it.

Pala also said that MLAs are eligible to apply for a ticket in the upcoming ADC polls.