SHILLONG: NPP has decided not to have any truck with BJP for the 2018 polls during the party meeting held in Tura on Monday.
The NPP national secretary and party legislator, Nihim D Shira, said over phone on Wednesday that the party unanimously decided to fight the 2018 polls without having any pre-poll alliance.
The meeting chaired by NPP national president Conrad Sangma was attended by MLAs, NPP party presidents and secretaries of various districts and blocks, besides former MLAs and frontal wings of the party.
The meeting felt the need for gearing up for the Assembly polls to thwart the Congress’s attempt to retain power.
“We have taken reports from every district and adopted a poll strategy, but our tactic cannot be divulged,” Shira said.
First list in October
The party will release its first list of candidates in the first week of October, said Shira.
NPP’s election committee has been asked to move forward in finalising the candidates at the earliest. The party is looking at loyalty of candidates and not the winnability factor alone, the leader said.
“If there are two or three aspirants for tickets, we will have a meeting with them, and try to make them understand to support the candidate chosen by the party so that our goal is achieved,” he added.
Khasi Hills vs Garo Hills
The party has made it clear that there would not be any chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the polls as this will be decided after the polls.
It has been decided in the meeting that NPP leader Conrad Sangma will not contest the Assembly polls.
“He (Conrad) has made it clear he is sacrificing the post of CM by not contesting the polls, but the idea floated by him is that if the party gets more MLAs from Khasi Hills, the CM will emerge from that region and if the party gets more legislators from Garo Hills, the post will come to us,” Shira said.
