GUWAHATI: After extending its reach to Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, the National People’s Party (NPP), which heads the coalition government in Meghalaya, launched its Dima Hasao unit in Assam with 16 members of the newly-floated Hills People Forum joining the Conrad Sangma-led party here on Saturday.
The members who joined NPP in the presence of Sangma, also include former chief executive member of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council and convenor of the Forum, Samarjit Haflongbar.
NPP national president and Meghalaya chief minister, Sangma welcomed the 16 members of the Forum to the party fold and said the move would help establish the party’s presence in Assam.
The 16 who joined NPP will be looking to contest the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council elections, the date of which is still to be finalised.
The term of the council which expired on June 3 was extended by the state government for six months following which Haflongbar had filed a public interest litigation in Gauhati High Court.
Thomas A Sangma, who is the national general secretary of NPP and advisor to the Meghalaya chief minister, told The Shillong Times here that the Dima Hasao unit would be formally launched in the central Assam district soon.
“Owing to paucity of time with the bypolls in Meghalaya scheduled for August 23, we could not go to Dima Hasao. But the party would be formally launched in a big way after the elections. This is just the initial phase and more will join the party,” the NPP general secretary said.
Haflongbar, who will be the party’s Dima Hasao president, said, “We joined NPP because we felt it was the best option for us to contest the elections to the council.”