SHILLONG, Nov 24: In a veiled attack on the State BJP president, Ernest Mawrie, and vice president, Bernard Marak, Chief Minister and NPP National President, Conrad Sangma, today sought to downplay what he termed as “petty politics” by some BJP leaders in the state, while asserting that such things will not have an iota of effect on the MDA coalition since the two party MLAs were committed to the coalition.
“Let me be very clear that the BJP is a party with which we have had understanding in different states and even at the central level. So, one or two leaders who are trying to play petty politics here, which I would term as immature, will not affect our understanding,” the chief minister said.
Stating that it is up to the state BJP president to take a call, the chief minister said, “I can assure you that the MLAs of the BJP are very much with this coalition and they are not at all in line with the president, who is speaking his mind as an individual. So, I don’t think it is going to affect the coalition”.
Conrad said the upcoming MDA coordination committee meeting, scheduled for Thursday, will confer about issues pertaining to governance, the overall COVID-19 situation and the matters related to the coalition.
Advising coalition partners to act responsibly, he said, “We need to work as a team. We need to share and discuss with each other, and approaching the press is not the ideal way to resolve issues or fix communication gaps. These matters will also be taken up in the coordination committee meeting”.
The MDA coordination committee meeting holds significance as the months-long tiff has widened the chasm between the NPP and the BJP, and it remains to be seen whether the meeting will be able to bring about cohesion between the two allies.