SHILLONG: The NPP will field candidate for Shillong Lok Sabha seat despite the demand for a common candidate by the MDA partners, especially the UDP.
The NPP national general body meeting held here on Saturday decided to field candidates for all the 24 seats in the North East for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
After getting re-elected unopposed as the national president of the party for the second consecutive term, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma told reporters that the wish of the leaders present in the meeting was that the party should contest 24 seats in North East in the Lok Sabha elections and all the 60 Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh.
“As a party, we are keen to contest all the Lok Sabha seats in the Northeast. We will work out a mechanism and see how we can go forward,” Sangma said.
When asked about the Shillong seat as the MDA partners wanted a consensus candidate, Sangma said, “We intend to fight the seat as the party wants to have a representation and we will work towards it.”
Earlier, the UDP had projected its party leader Jemino Mawthoh as the consensus candidate of MDA to fight the Shillong seat.
Citing the intention of the NPP to contest all the Lok Sabha seats, Sangma said, “We as party want to play a pivotal role in voicing the concerns of the people and provide them a common platform to champion the cause of Northeast.”
The general body meeting had a discussion on the ways and means to strengthen the party in all the North East states for the upcoming elections and for forming the party unit in Assam.
The Assam unit will be launched on February 17.
The meeting was attended by party functionaries from different parts of the North East. All the states submitted reports with regard to the political scenario during the meeting.
