GUWAHATI: Senior Congress leader Ronnie V Lyngdoh has said that the race for Tura parliamentary constituency this time would not be a cakewalk for National People’s Party (NPP) as the ruling party in Meghalaya was still part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
The Tura Lok Sabha constituency has always been an NPP stronghold with the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance fielding a common candidate (Agatha K Sangma) from the seat.
“This time it will be different though as NPP is still part of the National Democratic Alliance and voting for the party will be like voting for BJP. The latter may be contesting alone but I feel it is just eyewash, a ploy to fool the voters as BJP does not stand a chance in the Lok Sabha polls in Meghalaya,” Lyngdoh told The Shillong Times on Tuesday.
Drawing a parallel with the stand taken by the United Democratic Party before the district council elections in the state, the former Cabinet minister said, “UDP also said it was no longer part of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), which however was only for public consumption. In reality, they are still part and parcel of NEDA.”
“Similarly, NPP president Conrad Sangma had earlier said that if the Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed, then it would rethink on ties with NEDA and NDA,” Lyngdoh said.
However, even as the BJP has hinted that it would pass CAB if it came to power at the Centre again, the Congress leader said that nothing concrete has been done by the MDA government.
The Congress however is yet to announce its candidates for the two parliamentary seats.
“The candidates will be announced in a day or two,” Lyngdoh said.
Vincent Pala might be the likely candidate for the Shillong seat with the veteran Congress leader looking to retain the seat for a third time. Former Nongthymmai legislator and UDP leader, Jemino Mawthoh is MDA’s common candidate for Shillong.
NPP disagrees
NPP working president, Don War however refuted Congress’ claims by saying that the MDA partners have enjoyed a larger vote share in the elections last year. “So as a combination of parties we are positive about our chances in Tura and Shillong,” War said.
