BJP will face ‘real test’ in 2028 Meghalaya polls, says Congress chief Vincent Pala

Meghalaya Congress president Vincent H Pala on Friday, September 25, said the BJP would face its “real test” in the 2028 Assembly election, questioning whether its growing strength in the state legislature would translate into wider support from voters.

Speaking to reporters in Shillong, Pala said the BJP’s current strength was largely the result of legislators switching political allegiance and did not necessarily reflect its electoral support in the state.

His remarks came two days after eight United Democratic Party (UDP) MLAs joined the BJP, taking the party’s strength in the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly to 10. The BJP and UDP are constituents of the ruling National People’s Party (NPP)-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance.

“The real test will be in 2028. They might have got MLAs but whether they will get the mandate of the people or not, that we are yet to see,” Pala said.

According to Election Commission of India records, the BJP won two seats in the 2023 Meghalaya Assembly election and secured around 9.3 per cent of the votes.

The Congress had won five seats and secured around 13.2 per cent of the votes in the election but currently has no representation in the state Assembly. Four of its MLAs later joined the NPP, while the fifth is now a Congress MP.

On the BJP’s expansion in Meghalaya, Pala said the Congress did not consider the increase in the party’s legislative strength as a reflection of its popular support.

The former Union minister said the Congress would focus on consolidating voters who do not support the BJP ahead of the 2028 election and asserted that his party was not concerned by the BJP’s expansion.

Pala also criticised the recent political realignments involving the BJP and its allies.

“We condemn the way in which the BJP has done this to their own friends, to their own allies,” he said.