SHILLONG, Nov 11: The HSPDP is all set to hold its Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting to discuss the fate of its MLAs and strategies for the upcoming 2023 Assembly elections.
HSPDP general secretary Panbor Ryntathiang said the party will hold its CEC on November 14 for initiating the candidate selection process.
He admitted HSPDP is racing against time to declare the first list of candidates, but a process would soon be set in motion by following the party guidelines.
A constituent of the NPP-led MDA government, the HSPDP has two MLAs. One of them, Cabinet Minister Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar is set to join the UDP while the fate of the other MLA from the Sohiong constituency, Samlin Malngiang is unclear.
“We have already made it clear that Tongkhar will not be contesting on our party ticket from the Mawkyrwat constituency,” Ryntathiang said, adding that a decision on Malngiang is yet to be taken. He said that his party had sought an explanation from Malngiang after reports of his plan to join the NPP surfaced in August.
“I had personally delivered the letter to his doorstep. He has not replied even after three months,” the HSPDP leader said.
He clarified that the party sent a letter and not a notice as a mark of respect but it went unheeded.
This issue will come up during the discussion in the CEC, he added.
Tongkhar has made a public appearance at a UDP function but Malngiang has been tight-lipped about his plans.
