Party plans to go it alone in 2018 Assembly elections
SHILLONG: Taking a cue from Manipur where a post-poll alliance led by BJP is in the offing, State BJP leader Shibun Lyngdoh said on Sunday that the party is also looking at a similar alliance in Meghalaya in 2018 and not a pre-poll understanding.
According to the BJP leader, there is no harm in fighting elections alone while at the same time keeping the identity of the contesting parties intact.
“NPP wanted to have its own identity in Manipur and hence they contested the election separately. NPF too followed the same. The same was the case with LJP and Trinamool,” Lyngdoh said.
The party leader said BJP in different states have different strategies and at the end of the day, it is the central leadership which finally decides on the strategy. Earlier for the Assam polls, BJP had an alliance with non-Congress like-minded parties. This had ensured the party’s victory. But Manipur experience shows that parties preferred post-poll alliance and not pre-poll arrangement, he added.
“In this context, we are looking at post-poll alliance in Meghalaya and would like to field candidates in all the 60 seats,” he said.
According to Lyngdoh, BJP wants to strengthen itself in Meghalaya and the same will be the case of NPP and other regional parties in the State.
Giving an example, the BJP leader pointed out that since the BJP wanted to have an alliance with Akali Dal in the Punjab Assembly polls, prominent party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu left the party and joined the Congress as he wanted BJP to go it alone in the polls.
Lyngdoh pointed out that while BJP plans to ensure its growth in Meghalaya, NPP and other regional parties will have their own plans to expand their organisations and strengthen them.
“There is no harm in mutually growing,” he added.
The BJP leader, however, asserted that the party will form the next government in Meghalaya and in this regard, various expansion steps have been initiated.
Over 2,000 to join
BJP at Shella
Lyngdoh said at a meeting to be held at Ichamati, Shella, over 2,000 persons will be enrolled in the party under the leadership of Jrop Nongkhaw, ex-project manager of DRDA. Nongkhaw is a party worker in Shella.
On Tuesday, at a meeting at Sanshong, Khliehriat, East Jaintia Hills, over 1,000 people are expected to join the party, Lyngdoh said.
