UDP hints at no post-poll handshake with BJP

SHILLONG: The United Democratic Party (UDP) has indicated that it will keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a distance even after the polls.
Responding to a query, UDP working president Paul Lyngdoh said on Wednesday the regional parties have come of age and that this is the first time when two of the oldest state political parties, UDP and Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP), have come together to form an alliance.
“I have no doubt that this alliance will perform very well in the elections which makes the possibility of having a post-poll alliance with other parties remote,” he said.
Maintaining that the North East Democratic Alliance is a platform for the development and overall growth of the region, Lyngdoh said UDP voted for BJP in the presidential elections since it was an electoral battle between BJP and the Congress.
“If we had voted for a Congress candidate, we would have been called team B of the Congress,” Lyngdoh told reporters.
Expressing confidence that the UDP-HSPDP alliance will secure the largest number of seats in the elections, Lyngdoh said UDP has a significant number of upcoming leaders who have worked hard would surprise people with their performance in the 2018 elections.
Responding to a query, Lyngdoh said UDP and HSPDP are the oldest parties which have existed for decades and have clear cut vote banks while PDF and NPP “are the manifestations of turmoil within the Congress”.