SHILLONG, July 2: Elected representatives of the United Democratic Party (UDP) have denied knowledge about any internal murmurs on severing ties with the NPP-led MDA coalition, saying the matter was never discussed in the party.
Acknowledging that some party leaders might have harboured such thoughts after the recent Lok Sabha poll debacle, a UDP MLA, who sought anonymity, said, “None of the elected representatives from the party know about it or have discussed about it which means it is just speculation.”
The UDP MLA said, “I have just read about it in the papers and if there was something of that magnitude we would have definitely known.”
The MLA however admitted that some party leaders were unhappy with the coalition for various reasons but no demand had been raised for severing ties with the NPP.
As per reports, a section of UDP leaders, disgruntled by the party’s debacle in the Shillong Parliamentary seat where it managed a poor fourth finish, have begun speaking about severing ties with the NPP and the MDA.
The UDP leaders attributed the party’s poor performance to their association with the NPP-led MDA Government.
Party insiders said the leaders felt several negative developments against the incumbent government in the past year led to the anger of the people, which benefitted the Voice of the People Party, a new political entity.
They accepted this during a meeting of the party leadership last week to analyse the factors that led to the failure of the UDP to win the Shillong Parliamentary seat despite having MLAs in 12 of the 36 segments under the constituency.
