Ardent sure of bagging 13 seats

SHILLONG: Whether it is a tall claim or overweening ambition only time will time. HSPDP president and party candidate from Nongkrem Ardent Basaiawmoit has said that if signs and indications are anything to go by his party stands a chance of winning in all the 13 constituencies.
“If we work it out well, I am sure we can reach the magic number,” he said when asked about his expectations from the UDP-HSPDP alliance.
Stating that the desertion of legislators and party workers from the Congress will weaken the party, he said, “Desertion has made it easier for us to fight against the Congress. Had the party remained as strong as it was before the desertions the scenario would have vastly different.”
Commenting on the MLAs who quit Congress to join the BJP and NPP, he observed that those who have joined the NPP will sail through.
Asked whether allegations that the BJP did not approve the visa application of Paul Msiza, president of the Baptist World Alliance, were at all true, Basaiawmoit replied that the BJP was against the sentiments and interests of the minority communities.
) “Our stand is clear. The BJP is not a secular party. We have seen that intolerance is increasing by the day after the BJP came to power. That is why all steps taken by the BJP only indicate that the party is against minorities, which is not acceptable to the HSPDP,” he said.
Ardent alleged that the BJP denied the visa to the Baptist preacher to prevent missionaries from coming to India.