Regional parties hum unification tune

SHILLONG, Oct 10: The Hills State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) and People’s Democratic Front (PDF) have endorsed the call of the United Democratic Party (UDP) for the state’s regional parties to unite.
PDF president Banteidor Lyngdoh said he had discussed this issue with UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh.
“Personally, it is high time that the regional parties should be unified in the best interest of the people of the State. As leaders of the regional parties, we need to be ready to sacrifice for the larger good,” the PDF chief told The Shillong Times.
He said they should not wait till the 2023 Assembly elections for the unification process. He also said the regional parties undeniably have vote banks in all the constituencies.
“But people are complaining why the regional parties cannot become a single force,” Lyngdoh said.
He said the merger of all the regional parties can happen if the leaders are ready to sacrifice.
“The problem is because everyone thinks he is a leader. It is this mindset which has failed the earlier attempts to unify the regional parties,” he said.
The PDF chief felt the new breed of leaders of the regional parties would be able to break the deadlock that the past leaders had not managed. “I am confident something concrete will materialise in the coming months,” he said.
Echoing similar views, HSPDP general secretary
Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar said the unification of the party regional parties is the need of the hour.
“It is important for us to start a discussion on the possible unification of the regional parties,” he said.
The Regional Democratic Alliance comprising the UDP and HSPDP is yet to meet on the issue formally but “we have often discussed it unofficially”, Tongkhar said.
He said they will need to create some kind of platform to allow various leaders of the regional parties to deliberate on how they can move forward to unify the regional forces in the “best interest of the people of the state”.
Earlier, the UDP chief said his party will continue the unification effort, revealing that it was the dream of the late Donkupar Roy, the former UDP president.
“Attempts in the past to unify the regional parties did not work out due to a number of reasons. But we are committed to achieving this objective,” he said.