Jemino wants regional parties to join hands

SHILLONG: Jemino Mawthoh, the UDP’s prospective common candidate for the Lok Sabha election, has emphasised the need for a united regional force.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mawthoh said having an alliance is fine but the regional parties should be more “practical”.
“Let us have only one regional party in the state and that will be more interesting. Unification is better because I feel that all regional parties have more or less the same ideology, the same issues we are fighting for,” said the UDP general secretary.
Pointing to the vote share of the regional parties, Mawthoh said the other national parties are nowhere.
“So why not have only one? That is also my dream. It is not easy to say let us unite now for parties which have been there for a very long time,” he added.
Mawthoh echoed UDP chief Donkupar Roy’s comment months ago.
After Independent MLA SK Sunn became an associate member of UDP, Roy had also batted for a united regional entity for revamping politics in Meghalaya.
Mawthoh sounded optimistic about UDP in 2023 when the next Assembly election will take place.
“The unification process is a gradual process, it cannot be sudden but it has to come with understanding the situation and the state of affairs in Meghalaya vis-à-vis at the Centre. This is where you need to take it seriously,” he said.