Shillong, Dec 15 (IANS): The Trinamool Congress, which is the main opposition party in Meghalaya, would field candidates in most of the 60 seats and declare its nominees for the upcoming assembly polls before the Christmas, state unit president Charles Pyngrope said on Thursday.

Assembly elections to Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura are expected to be held in February 2023. Political parties and the Election Commission have already started the preparations in the three northeastern states.

The West Bengal-based Trinamool Congress has been trying to set up its organisational base in Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam. Pyngrope said that the complete list of candidates or majority of names of party nominees would be announced as soon as possible.

He said that after the announcement of the election schedule by the Election Commission the model code of conduct is likely to come into force in the first week of January.

Claiming the Trinamool Congress has a very good prospect in the Assembly elections, Pyngrope said that the party has got rejuvenated after the party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's recent visit to the hill state.

About Trinamool MLA H. M. Shangpliang switching to the BJP, the state party president said: "It is not a question of holding on. If the person decides that joining the other political party is better, then who are we to stop him."

In the upcoming assembly elections to the 60-seat Meghalaya assembly, a multi-corner contest is likely to be witnessed as the ruling National People's Party (NPP), Bharatiya Janata Party, United Democratic Party (UDP), few other parties besides the Trinamool Congress have separately announced that they would put up candidates in all 60 assembly constituencies.

The NPP is a dominating party in the MDA government of 6-party alliance in which the BJP and the UDP are the constituents.