SHILLONG: Amid varied opinions emerging from the MDA partners over common candidate, UDP president Donkupar Roy said the party is only concerned about the regional parties and they will have a regional common candidate.
The UDP has already declared former MLA Jemino Mawthoh as its common candidate.
While the NPP during its recent general body meeting had decided to field candidates in all the seats in the North East, the BJP, an ally in the MDA government, has decided to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the twin seats in Meghalaya.
However, NPP leader and Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, who is leading the MDA coalition, is open to discussions on the issue of common candidate.
Speaking on the matter, Sangma said every political party has its own right to decide whether it will contest, “which is the whole idea of being independent”.
When asked if the plans of the BJP would have any bearing on the MDA coalition and the prospects of having a common candidate, Sangma said they are looking at it and will observe how things go from here.
“There is no hard and fast rule that they cannot contest. We are looking at it and see how things go as there is no confirmed closure of whether we will have a common candidate or not and we will sit and decide,” he added.
On the other hand, Deputy Chief Minister and NPP leader Prestone Tynsong said the MDA core coordination committee would take a call on the matter after the council elections are over. The coalition that also comprises the BJP had earlier decided to join the partners to come up with a common MDA candidate to fight the Lok Sabha polls.
However, the BJP has now gone ahead and announced its decision to fight the parliamentary elections in Shillong and Tura.
