SHILLONG, Nov 15: With less than three months remaining before the state goes to polls in February next year, political parties – both national and regional – have begun making claims of securing majority on their own in the state. As the election draws near, claims and counterclaims of sitting and former MLAs shifting camps and political jerseys are being heard daily. The NPP, the UDP, the TMC and the BJP are all confident about their prospects in 2023.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, smaller parties like the HSPDP and the PDF, which are part and parcel of the MDA Government, are feeling the heat with their MLAs being poached by their more powerful partners – the NPP and UDP.
The HSPDP is all set to lose both its MLAs – Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar to the UDP and Samlin Malngiang to the NPP, while the PDF is likely to be reduced by half with two of its four MLAs preparing to contest from other parties. Both Jason Sawkmie Mawlong and Hamletson Dohling will contest next year’s election as NPP candidates.
Reacting to the issue of poaching, HSPDP president KP Pangniang said, “We need to have mutual respect among the MDA partners and I would urge each and every MLA to maintain good principle.”
Talking about the MLAs jumping from one party to another, he said, “We should be grateful to the parent party which gave the ticket and ensured the MLA’s victory.”
On both his MLAs leaving the party, Pangniang said, “We have received reports from our district committees that they (the two MLAs) are going to leave the party. We leave it to the wisdom of the district committee to take a final call on which candidate to field from those vacant constituencies.”
Admitting that the HSPDP has witnessed a trend of MLAs contesting from the party and leaving later, he said, “As a party we should stand strong to reorganise re-strategise and rebuild the party.”
Asked how many seats the HSPDP will contest, the party chief said, “By the end of November or the first week of December we will have a final say on the number of candidates.”
He maintained that the Regional Democratic Alliance of the HSPDP and the UDP will continue to exist after the polls but both parties will fight the Assembly polls on their own.
The PDF, meanwhile, seems confident despite two of its MLAs choosing to contest from the NPP.
The party had, earlier, lost its lone MDC Macdalyne S Mawlong (Umsning) to the NPP. She will contest from Nongpoh constituency.
PDF working president and Cabinet Minister Banteidor Lyngdoh on Tuesday said the party has finalised its candidates in five constituencies and will target at least 15 seats in the polls.
“We are likely to release the first list of candidates by the end of this month,” Lyngdoh said.
The five candidates include Lyngdoh himself from Mawkynrew constituency, party president Gavin M Mylliem from Sohra and general secretary Auspicious Lyngdoh Mawphlang (Mawphlang constituency).
