SHILLONG: Assembly Speaker and UDP chief Donkupar Roy on Monday confirmed Pius Marwein as the party candidate for the Ranikor by-poll.
Marwein was runner-up in both the 2013 and 2018 Assembly polls from Ranikor with M.M Danggo winning each time.
The UDP chief believes that the party will surely win the upcoming Ranikor by-poll which has been necessitated following the resignation of Danggo.
Roy said the party would meet soon to discuss the by-poll even as he sounded optimistic about a UDP win since the party candidate (Marwein) had lost the election in February by a slender margin.
Clarifying the party’s stand, he said UDP never had any pre-poll alliance with anyone except the HSPDP and whether the NPP or the UDP wins the seat, the winner will support the ruling coalition.
No impact on coalition
When asked whether the UDP’s decision to contest the Ranikor by-poll will have any impact on the NPP-led coalition, Roy said the government will continue and he does not see any chance of a coalition collapse.
There were media reports that Roy was unhappy with the move of the NPP to approach Danggo to switch allegiance to NPP without taking UDP in the loop.
Roy admitted that recently doubts were raised by some party men on whether NPP does not have confidence and trust in its coalition partners, but the NPP clarified that it has full trust and confidence in its partners.