By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 1: The BJP on Friday said that the strategy of the NPP to distance itself from the saffron party ahead of any election in Meghalaya is nothing more than an election gimmick.
“These remarks are part of the electoral politics (in Meghalaya). There is nothing new in this and it is not strange,” said BJP spokesperson Mariahom Kharkrang said on Friday, while reacting to NPP’s Shillong candidate Ampareen Lyngdoh’s statement that “the myth of NPP being synonymous with the BJP has to be dispelled”.
“NPP has its own identity. We are not going to be subverted by any ideas or ideologies which are averse to the people of the state. We are members of the MDA and there is absolutely no harm in being coalition partners in the MDA,” she had said.
Speaking further on the topic of Lok Sabha elections, Kharkrang said that the BJP is yet to finalise its candidates since the central leadership has not asked for any names.
He, however, said that the central leadership could be waiting for the results of Assembly elections in five states before setting its sights on the Lok Sabha elections.
Asked if senior BJP leader AL Hek is one of the probable candidates for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat, Kharkrang resisted giving a direct reply and said, “I have seen in the papers. We can have AL Hek, a six-time MLA, as our candidate and it would be wonderful.”
He also said that the party is open to the idea of fielding a woman candidate subject to eligibility.