SHILLONG, May 20: Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) chief KP Pangniang on Saturday said confidently that the party’s two MLAs – Shakliar Warjri and Methodious Dkhar – will not jump ship.
Troubled by MLAs deserting the party during every election, Pangniang said, “It happened in previous years…and that is why, the party could not perform well in the general elections. But luckily, we have repositioned ourselves by having two MLAs.”
He said there may be attempts from some parties to persuade them to change their political colours but “I will make sure these two MLAs do not go away.”
Pangniang also said that party’s former MLA Samlin Malngiang, who defected to the National People’s Party (NPP) and unsuccessfully contested the deferred elections to the Sohiong seat, would have won if he had stuck to the HSPDP.
“The people of the particular constituency had given us a clear mandate and Samlin had won the seat. They did not like when he had left the HSPDP,” Pangniang said.
“They wanted him to contest from the party (HSPDP). I can say that if he had contested on the party’s ticket, he would not have lost,” the HSPDP chief added.
Ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, the HSPDP had lost two of its MLAs to NPP and United Democratic Party.
Pangniang said some political parties have set their sights on the HSPDP MLAs but they are not going to go anywhere.
“I know it as they are the members of my own family,” he said.
Recalling that the HSPDP legislators had skipped a meeting when an attempt was made to form an alternative government without the NPP and the BJP after the last election, Pangniang said the two were not around for a brief period but they were very much with the party.
The question of them running away does no arise, he added.
It may be recalled that the after the People’s Democratic Front had recently merged with the NPP. PDF chief Gavin Miguel Mylliem and NPP supremo Conrad Sangma had signed the merger document on May 6.
The event was called a wedding ceremony between the two parties who had been romancing for five years.
