SHILLONG, March 27: The United Democratic Party (UDP) on Wednesday said it leads in the race to win the Shillong seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The UDP said while the National People’s Party (NPP) has chosen to align with the BJP which people have always voted against, the Congress has become a spent force. It did not count the Voice of the People Party (VPP) stating that it is a new entrant in the state’s political landscape.
“UDP is the leading regional party in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills sector. We have 12 MLAs and we won the maximum number of seats in this region (in the last Assembly elections). At one point of time, seven out of seven seats in Jaintia Hills were won by UDP,” Cabinet Minister and UDP working president Paul Lyngdoh said. “If you compare that to NPP, they won only a miniscule number of seats. Even in the Autonomous District Councils, it was UDP that initially had the numbers,” he said.
The UDP stalwart said the NPP managed to lead the Executive Committee of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council following large-scale defections by the members of other parties in the absence of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law).
The Shillong Parliamentary seat is considered a Congress bastion. Lyngdoh said it used to be a Congress bastion but the dynamics of politics in the country have changed and the same will turn out to be a boon for the UDP.
“Because, on one hand there’s an aversion towards the BJP which is obvious. That they did not put up a candidate in Meghalaya shows they know it is pointless to field a candidate,” Lyngdoh said.
“VPP is a newcomer and it doesn’t have any presence except in East Khasi Hills district…so you understand the ramifications of that statement. We are fighting in an environment where a leading national party (BJP) is not contesting and NPP has chosen to align with that party. Meghalaya has always voted against BJP; Congress is a spent force and VPP has a presence only in East Khasi Hills. So, who has a better chance?” he asked.
He said the UDP and the Hill State People’s Democratic Party together have 14 MLAs which is more than one/third of the total strength of Shillong Parliamentary seat which is made up of 36 Assembly segments.
“That apart, even in the constituencies which did not have UDP or HSPDP (MLAs) in the past 10-15 years and our presence, in terms of functionaries, is absolutely zero, we always managed to garner not less than 3,000 votes,” he said.
UDP MANIFESTO
Inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule, a mechanism to curb infiltration, and youth empowerment will be some of the key highlights of the UDP’s Lok Sabha 2024 manifesto, Lyngdoh said.
Asked about the release of the manifesto, he said, “The draft is ready…we should be able to release the manifesto along with the appeal of the candidate within a couple of days.” On NPP claiming achievements of the MDA coalition government as its own, the UDP working president said, “When it is elections, it is natural for a political party to make a lot of noise about its achievements but since it is a coalition government you should also attend UDP meetings and hear us making claims about this government.”
