SHILLONG : Former Rajya Sabha MP Dr Wanweiroy Kharlukhi has criticised the MLAs who deserted Vincent H Pala, saying they left the Congress in pursuit of power and cabinet positions but were still waiting for their share in the government.

Addressing an election campaign meeting in Dawki, West Jaintia Hills, on Friday, Kharlukhi praised Pala, the Congress president in Meghalaya and former Shillong MP, for keeping the party alive in the state and delivering what he described as a historic political victory by wresting the Tura Lok Sabha seat from the Sangma family after 25 years.

Kharlukhi said the Congress in Meghalaya would have been wiped out had Pala not held the party together during his tenure as Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president.

“Had it not been for Pala, Congress would have been wiped out of Meghalaya,” he said.

Taking a swipe at the MLAs who left Pala, Kharlukhi said he felt pity rather than anger towards them, claiming that they had abandoned the party expecting positions in the government but had yet to secure cabinet berths even after waiting for more than a year.

He contrasted their situation with that of Paul Lyngdoh, who, according to him, became a minister within a week of leaving the United Democratic Party (UDP).

“They left with the expectation to get flesh,” Kharlukhi remarked, using the metaphor of meat to describe the pursuit of political power and government positions.

He also cautioned political leaders against being overconfident, using an analogy of an animal that watches only one direction while remaining blind to danger approaching from another side.

Kharlukhi said Pala’s critics were focusing only on the political benefits of joining the ruling government while overlooking the Congress’s achievement in wresting the Tura parliamentary constituency from the Sangma family.

He pointed out that the Tura Lok Sabha seat had remained with late P.A. Sangma and his family for 25 years before Pala, as MPCC president, helped the Congress win it in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“Nobody looks at the Tura parliamentary constituency seat which was held for 25 years by the late P.A. Sangma and his family. And at the time when Vincent H. Pala was president of the MPCC, that seat was snatched from the hands of my own party, the NPP,” he said.

Kharlukhi further stated that he understood the attraction of political power but had chosen not to join the government simply for the sake of holding office.

Turning to the upcoming political contest, he expressed confidence that the Congress would return to power in Meghalaya after the 2028 Assembly elections.

Citing the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, Kharlukhi said the Congress had won in 22 Assembly segments, while the National People’s Party (NPP) secured leads in only two constituencies.

He compared this to the NPP’s political journey, recalling how the party had suffered a setback in the 2013 elections before gradually strengthening its position following the 2016 Tura byelection and eventually forming the government in 2018.

“And the same now, in 2024 Congress won 22 seats. I have no doubt that Congress will come to power in 2028,” he declared.

Kharlukhi went further, predicting that no political party would be able to form the next Meghalaya government without the Congress.

He also challenged Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s confidence in the NPP’s electoral prospects, suggesting that the MDC and Lok Sabha elections should be held simultaneously to test the party’s actual strength.

“Sir, if you feel confident, hold the MDC and MP elections together and we will see the result,” he challenged.