BJP will fight proxy battle in North East: Ampareen

SHILLONG: As the political battle heats up in Meghalaya with Lok Sabha elections less than a month away, senior Congress leader Ampareen Lyngdoh has taken a jibe at the BJP and the regional parties saying the saffron party will fight a proxy battle in the North East in the upcoming elections by shooting from the shoulders of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) partners.
Talking to media persons, Lyngdoh also slammed the Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma, for claiming that the NPP is not aligning with BJP.
She asked how the chief minister could attend the meeting of the NEDA, a political forum floated by BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, if there was no alliance.
“Can the NPP show us documents that they have dissociated themselves from the NPP,” she asked.
Asserting that the Congress will be aligning with local forces in some of the Northeastern states, she said the issue of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill cannot be rubbished off if the NDA manages to become a force in the region
She also said that the BJP and the regional parties in Meghalaya are working on a formula to have one-to-one fight between the Congress and the common candidates of MDA. She found it surprising that the BJP could not find a candidate while pointing out that the regional parties have fielded a common candidate sans the saffron party.
“I believe Congress will gain out of these strategies and arrangements and it is going to be simple for us to contest one-on-one with the common candidate who has just lost the MLA elections,” Lyngdoh said.
It may be mentioned that the MDA partners have decided to field Jemino Mawthoh as its common candidate for the Shillong seat while Congress is fielding its incumbent MP Vincent Pala.
The KHNAM is also fielding its candidate while BJP would take a call on Saturday on its nominees for Shillong and Tura seats.