With the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress president O L Nongtdu expressing his intention to apply for a party ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election, his detractors are asking him to step down as PCC chief since the party failed to form the government after the 2008 Assembly polls.

Nongtdu’s term as PCC president expired in May but as no party election was held, he is continuing in the post. He told The Indian Express on Thursday that he had asked the AICC to hold elections when his term expired but the party high command asked him to continue. Nongtdu said: “The high command said elections to the PCCs and AICC will be held only after the parliamentary election next year. They have asked me to continue till then.”

Recently, he met AICC president Sonia Gandhi and expressed his desire for a party ticket for the Shillong seat.

The supporters of former Chief Minister Salseng C Marak who had been defeated by Nongtdu in the last PCC president election and former Deputy Chief Minister Mukul Sangma are of the opinion that Nongtdu should quit.