Rowell, others to join NPP after poll date announcement

SHILLONG: Senior state Congress leader Rowell Lyngdoh has said he and other legislators will join the National People’s Party (NPP) after the date for the State Assembly elections is announced.
Lyngdoh said he will remain in the Congress till the last moment since he was elected from the party.
Expressing confidence about NPP’s performance in 2018, Lyngdoh said the party has good chances in many constituencies currently held by MLAs of other parties.
Nongstoin, which is a stronghold of the Hill State People’s Democratic Party, may come to NPP, the veteran politician sounded confident. But he added that Ranikor constituency may go to the Congress.
A group of Congress legislators besides Lyngdoh, Prestone Tynsong, Sniawbhalang Dhar and Ngaitlang Dhar has already made their intentions to contest the elections on NPP ticket.
Tynsong, the Congress MLA from Pynursla, said that he would resign from the party before the Assembly session begins.
“As you all know that I will soon be leaving the Congress and for that I need to resign from my current position as an MLA. I will follow the rules and regulations before I proceed ahead,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an NPP meeting at Sohryngkham on Saturday.
Tynsong attended the meeting at Sohryngkham where district council member PS Syiem was welcomed into NPP.
Asked on the reason why he resigned from the party, Tynsong said, “I am unhappy that the party is being led by Mukul Sangma and also in the way that the state is being administered.”
He added that it was due to this reason that many MLAs are preparing to leave the party.