SHILLONG, May 2: State BJP vice president and Tura MDC, Bernard N Marak said the NPP would gain from the support his party extended to its candidates in the Lok Sabha elections on April 19.
His assertion followed an assessment that the BJP’s support may cost the NPP the Tura seat held by Agatha K Sangma. One of the reasons is believed to be the religious sentiments working against the BJP in the Garo Hills.
“I do not see it (support) affecting them negatively. The NPP will benefit from the BJP’s support,” Marak said on Thursday.
“I do not know how they say it. It may be because their supporters, who were saying the BJP is a Hindu party, extended their support to other parties,” he said.
“The BJP might have won the Tura seat had it put up a candidate as we have been connecting with the rural people and beneficiaries (of government schemes),” he added.
Marak said all his field visits and interactions with people at the grassroots level showed the BJP enjoyed considerable support and it eventually benefitted the NPP.
On the BJP being labelled a Hindu party, he said it is not new but the party has been gaining ground. “Getting support in the Garo Hills is not a small matter,” he said.
“We have been working for many years and trying to be a people-oriented party in keeping with the vision of our PM. We have been visiting the villages and ensuring the beneficiaries are not deprived. People showed their support for the BJP everywhere I went,” he said.
The supporters of the NPP, perhaps, did not want to be a part of the coalition with BJP, he said.
