BJP pullout threat a joke, says Kharlukhi

SHILLONG, Nov 4: NPP state president and Rajya Sabha member, WR Kharlukhi said the BJP’s threat to withdraw from the MDA government is “nothing but a joke”.
Two months have passed since the BJP had left it to the central leadership to take a final call on pulling out of the Conrad K Sangma-led government in the state. Party leaders said a decision would be taken after the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh later this month.
Welcoming the BJP for deciding to contest all the 60 seats in the State in 2023, he said it is not unusual for coalition partners to have differences. “Every political party has its own target,” he added.
Kharlukhi was optimistic about the NPP getting an absolute majority in the upcoming polls. But the outcome of the election would eventually decide whether or not the party would forge an alliance with BJP again.
He declined to comment on the BJP’s plan to field Bernard N Marak in South Tura even from jail. “It is for the people of the constituency to decide,” he said.
The state BJP, meanwhile, is determined to withdraw from the alliance.
“We have explained the situation to the central leadership, which will take a call after the Himachal Pradesh polls,” state BJP president Ernest Mawrie said, while adding that the party’s state unit endorses it but the ultimate decision lies with the central leadership.