SHILLONG, Feb 28: In the backdrop of the exit polls predicting a fractured mandate in Meghalaya, the United Democratic Party (UDP) on Tuesday said it will be difficult for the party to say who it will align with.
UDP general secretary, Jemino Mawthoh said the party had some good and bad experience in the past, not only with the present MDA government of which it is a constituent but also with the previous government when it was in the Opposition
He said the party spoke about having a common minimum programme during the MDA government but it never took off.
“We don’t want this kind of thing to happen again. We will need to properly explore the possible combination and alignment. What is important is to focus on the issues and agenda concerning the state, whether it is development or law or order,” the UDP general secretary said.
Stating that the UDP will like to set stringent pre-conditions before deciding to join any coalition this time around, he said the party cannot have a wishy-washy relation as this will not work.
“We have to consider all these aspects before joining a formation in case there is a fractured mandate,” Mawthoh said.
He also said that the UDP will be able to predict how many seats it will win only after getting the inputs from different constituencies.
Senior Congress leader, Ronnie V Lyngdoh said the party will not work with the BJP or its allies. He said the NPP is a part of the NDA government at the Centre and it has only taken a temporary divorce “to fool people during the elections”.
He is optimistic that the Congress will fare well as people wanted change. The regional parties, which are part of the NPP-led MDA, failed to meet the expectations of people, he claimed.
Another senior Congress leader, JA Lyngdoh is also confident that the Congress will emerge as the single largest party, for people wanted change.
