Shillong: In a new crisis for Congress from northeast India, Trinamool Congress (TMC) claimed that 12 Congress MLAs from Meghalaya have joined the Mamata Banerjee-led party.  Congress in charge of Meghalaya Manish Chatrath will visit Shillong on Thursday, after the claim by TMC. 

According to a report by a private TV channel, former Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and 11 of the 17 Congress MLAs have the TMC in a huge political blow for the Congress in the northeast. 

The Meghalaya MLAs submitted a letter to Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh around 10 pm on Wednesday, informing him of their change of status, reported NDTV.

Reacting to the deepning crisis,Congress MP Adhir Ranjan said, " This conspiracy to break Congress is happening not only in Meghalaya, but whole northeast. I challenge CM Mamata Banerjee to first elect them on TMC's symbol  and then formally welcome them to her party".

Read: https://24x7liveindia.com/congress-leaders-kirti-azad-ashok-tanwar-join-tmc

In April 2010, Mukul Sangma took oath as the 11th Chief Minister of Meghalaya, following the resignation of DD Lapang.  He was sworn in for a second straight term in March 2013. Sangma was named as one of the candidates for the 2018 Assembly Elections in Meghalaya, contesting for seats from the Songsak and Ampathi constituencies in which he won from both.

Currently, he serves as the Leader of Opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. Mukul Sangma's successor as Chief Minister in 2018 was Conrad Sangma who is not related to him.

On a day of gains to TMC, two Congress leaders Kirti Azad and Ashok Tanwar joined the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee-led party on Tuesday. The same day, TMC made a foray into Bihar after JDU leader Pawan Varma joined the party.