SHILLONG, OCT 29: Congress president Vincent H Pala on Wednesday said UDP chief Metbah Lyngdoh will face pressure from his own defected MLAs rather than from Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.
Lyngdoh is left alone in UDP after 11 MLAs defected — 8 to BJP and 3 to NPP.
Asked if Metbah should be dropped from the ministry, Pala said, “As a man, Conrad will respect Metbah because when he was Speaker, he stood by Conrad for five years. Since Dr Donkupar was there, they have been working together.”
“But practically, the enemy of Metbah is not Conrad, it is his own UDP MLAs who have gone. They will demand more, asking why should we give him when he is alone. So Metbah will face heat from his own people, not from Conrad,” he said.
Pala said Sangma now has to balance a complex equation.
“He has to handle one MLA who did not go, three who went to NPP, eight who went to BJP and one UDP MLA. Balancing 1, 3, 8 is not easy. He will be compelled to adjust or he may have guts to keep everyone and even throw away his own NPP,” he said.
“It is the prerogative of the Chief Minister and depends on his wisdom. I think he will give more power to his own NPP and less to others. I don’t think he will survive long, though sometimes you want something but are compelled to do another thing,” Pala added.
