SHILLONG: HSPDP chief Ardent M Basaiawmoit is visibly unfazed by United Democratic Party (UDP) working president Bindo M Lanong’s statement that a pre-poll alliance was crucial to ousting Congress from the State.
Lanong had on Monday appealed to all the regional parties to go for a pre-poll alliance to form a consolidated front to oust the Congress.
The UDP working president had also, without taking any names, blamed parties like the HSPDP, which are not interested in alliances, for the Congress’ dominance in the State.
Reacting to the statement, Basaiawmoit claimed that uniting with regional parties had in fact weakened the HSPDP in the past.
“If not for the defection of members to other parties, the HSPDP would have been a much stronger force,” he said.
On Lanong’s statement that Basaiawmoit was acting like his late predecessor HS Lyngdoh who decided to retain the party in violation of a political agreement, the HSPDP chief said, “Looking back at the political history there was no move to dissolve the party.”
“I respect him (Lanong) as a senior party leader but election records reveal that there was no pre-poll alliance in 1983 and that the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) did not get 17 seats as claimed by him, but 15 seats like the HSPDP,” Basaiawmoit added.
It may be mentioned that sharing the history of coalition politics in the state, Lanong had informed that the APHLC and HSPDP had contested the 1983 Assembly election jointly (pre-poll alliance) and they formed the government with 32 MLAs (APHLC =17 and HSPDP =15). Responding to Lanong’s claim that the HSPDP did not attend a meeting of all regional parties held just before the Tura by-poll, Basaiawmoit said that his party was not aware of any such meet.
“We were not informed of any such meeting so it is misleading to say that we did not attend the meet,” the HSPDP chief said.
Meanwhile, coming to the political scheme of things Basaiawmoit observed that the trend that followed after unification of regional parties was one of betrayal.
He then made reference to the 1999 ‘betrayal’ of the UDP.
“Following the 1998 elections, the HSPDP and UDP had formed the government but after HS Lyngdoh left for Delhi to approach the Supreme Court due to the rampant felling of trees, he was back-stabbed by the leaders of UDP and Lyngdoh was removed from the ministerial portfolio of Minister of Forests. The UDP then entered into coalition with Congress to form a new government,” he pointed out.
Talking about the KHADC, which is presently ruled by the Congress, he said, “It is UDP which gave its support to the Congress even in the District Council, so the issue of unification of regional parties does not arise in such cases of betrayals.”
He reiterated his stand that unification of regional parties is a futile effort and if the UDP is looking forward to an alliance with the BJP, it would be meaningless to approach the HSPDP for a pre-poll alliance.
