SHILLONG: UDP chief Donkupar Roy on Wednesday claimed that anti-BJP and anti-Modi wave in Shillong resulted in the defeat of common candidate Jemino Mawthoh.
This is in contrast to the pan-India situation where there was Modi wave which ensured the victory of the BJP at the national level.
Speaking to reporters, Roy said, “There was huge anti-BJP and anti-Modi wave in Shillong”.
He added that the anti-BJP and Modi wave was so strong that he could not even control his own people.
To a question on the ‘black sheep’ allegation of Mawthoh which resulted in his defeat, Roy said, “There is no black sheep, every one tried to win, but we failed”.
Roy admitted that another reason for the loss was the propaganda of the Congress that BJP is anti-minority and UDP is an ally of BJP.
He also attributed the defeat of Mawthoh to historical legacy.
Roy lamented that the regional parties have not won the LS election from Shillong Parliamentary seat since 1989.
He said in the earlier years, there was a feeling among the people that the candidate of the regional parties would always align with the Congress.
“Therefore, the people felt that it would be better to elect the Congress candidate instead of the candidate of the regional forces,” the UDP president said.
According to Roy, the same feeling still persists among the people as during the Lok Sabha polls, people always look upto the candidate of the national parties.
Stating that the outcome of the Lok Sabha election has nothing to do with the state election, Roy said the regional parties are still a strong force in any election in the state except for the Lok Sabha polls.
When asked if UDP’s closeness with BJP is denting its image as the regional party, he said there was nothing like that and regional forces would emerge stronger in future while Congress and BJP would go down.
He also said the Congress is opposing Citizenship (Amendment) Bills because Muslims are left out while the party is also against the Bill since it would encourage migration into the Northeastern states.
