By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Decks have been cleared for merger of the KHNAM with the UDP and the same is likely to take place next month.
A senior UDP leader on Tuesday said the negotiations between the leaders of the two political parties have reached the final stages.
“We have agreed to most of the terms and conditions for the merger. The merger will finally take place in December,” the UDP leader said.
“The party wants to bring all the regional parties under one platform,” he said adding that its Central Executive Committee (CEC) had already endorsed this move.
“The party earlier had made efforts to unite all the regional parties but the move failed because leaders of some regional parties could not be convinced. We do not see there is anything wrong in attempting to integrate the regional parties once again,” he said.
While commenting on the merger of the KHNAM with the UDP, he said, “Since both the parties share similar political ideologies there is a general feeling that both should come together.”
Sources, meanwhile, said the both parties were coming together ostensibly to strengthen the regional force to fight ‘misrule’ of Congress.
In the 2008 Assembly elections, the regional parties did not win even a single seat in Jaintia Hills. Even in Garo Hills, the regional parties could only manage one seat. UDP legislator is Nimarson Momin won from Salmanpara constituency.
The regional parties performed better in Ri-Bhoi in the last election with UDP bagging three of the four seats in the district.
“Both the parties have agreed that if they are to win the maximum seats in the coming Assembly elections they have to strengthen their base at the grassroot level,” sources said.