SHILLONG: The People’s Democratic Front (PDF) has said there are few individuals who want to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the party.
Urban Affairs Minister and PDF leader Hamletson Dohling on Friday said the party would soon meet to discuss if it will propose the name of a common candidate for the Shillong parliamentary seat to the coordination committee of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA).
“There are two persons who want to contest from the party in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. We would take a final call after the announcement of the result of the council polls,” Dohling told the reporters.
The party has not divulged the names of the duo as it does not want to “create confusion”.
When asked that the UDP had already announced the common candidate of the party in the form of former legislator Jemino Mawthoh, the minister said personally, he is of the view that any party cannot announce the common candidate on its own.
“The allies in the MDA can only propose the name of the common candidate before the coordination committee. The deliberation on the pros and cons of the various names proposed by the various political parties will be discussed in the MDA,” he said, adding that the best candidate from the names which had been proposed would be named as the common candidate of the MDA coalition.
Replying to a query, Dohling said the party is yet to decide if it would be part of the Regional Democratic Alliance that comprises the UDP and the HSPDP.
“Yes, there is an offer to the party to be part of the regional alliance in the state. But we are yet to discuss the matter,” he added.
Earlier, Nongkrem independent MLA Lambor Malngiang who is supporting the MDA had earlier mooted the idea that the common candidate should contest on a common symbol. The UDP and HSPDP have already named their candidates as the proposed common candidate. While UDP has proposed the name of its former MLA Jemino Mawthoh, HSPDP has proposed the name of its MLA Renikton Lyngdoh and their names will be taken up before the MDA meeting for discussion.
In addition, the BJP had also decided to contest from both Shillong and Tura seat.
The NPP, which is leading the alliance, is yet to announce its candidate for both Shillong and Tura parliamentary seats though it has welcomed the idea of the UDP to field a common candidate for the Shillong parliamentary seat.
