MPCC president Vincent Pala says sitting MLAs in talks to rejoin Congress

CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: In a move likely to stir Meghalaya’s political cauldron well ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections, Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Vincent H. Pala hinted that several sitting and former legislators—including some aligned with the ruling front—were in talks to return to the Congress. His remarks, loaded with political subtext, suggested that the grand old party was quietly engineering a comeback by reopening its doors to leaders who had once drifted away, setting the stage for a possible pre-poll realignment in the state.

“Many of the former MLAs and present MLAs are negotiating now, talking—many of them will come with conditions (to get a party ticket),” Pala disclosed, hinting that several political heavyweights who once deserted the Congress were now seeking a re-entry deal.

Sounding confident of the Congress’s growing traction, Pala said, “Among the sitting MLAs also, many met us—time will tell quite a number which is beyond my expectations.” His statement suggested that disenchantment within the ruling camp might be deeper than what appears on the surface.

The Congress chief further revealed that talks with some MLAs had already reached the high command level. “Many of them will come not exactly now (before the elections) because they are with the government, so that again I cannot tell, but we do have a good number of them who already met me personally, met even the High Command and then told their intention to join,” he said, indicating that the Congress was quietly scripting its comeback strategy through calibrated political manoeuvring.

Outlining the rules of re-entry, Pala maintained, “Congress always welcomes anybody who wants to join the party, provided that we have a system in the party. When we take the former MLAs—especially those who left us—and if they are looking for a ticket, then this has to be brought for the information of the High Command, and the decisions will be taken by them and not by me.”However, Pala drew a distinction between conditional and unconditional returnees. “If any of the former MLAs wants to join the party without any condition, then it will be within the power of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee,” he clarified, asserting internal discipline and centralized decision-making in the party’s revival roadmap.

Positioning the Congress as a rejuvenated force capable of balancing legacy and new leadership, Pala remarked, “There is always a good blend between the new and the old, the experienced and the new one. We have no reservations that we will not allow the old to go for the new. It depends on cases, localities, and blocks and districts and whom they want to put as a candidate—we will examine it.”While tempering expectations with political prudence, the Shillong MP remained optimistic about the Congress’s resurgence. “It’s too early to say now, as there are another two and a half years left for the elections. It also depends on the performance of the Congress in other states because the people of Meghalaya are smart enough—I think that is one of the reasons,” he observed, linking the party’s revival in the state to national political momentum.

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