By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 12: The BJP on Wednesday insisted that the talks about strained relations between the two parties are propaganda and the two allies are bonded together strongly.
He made it clear that neither the NPP can blame the BJP nor the BJP can blame the NPP for the Lok Sabha poll debacle in Meghalaya.
“The results are the mandate of the people,” BJP national vice president M Chuba Ao told The Shillong Times.
He also stated that someone will win the election and others will lose but that does not mean that the two parties should start blaming each other. “It (the blame game) is just the opinion of certain people,” he said, while adding that some people have the habit of making a hue and cry over petty things.
The NPP, in partnership with the BJP, suffered a resounding defeat in Tura and was placed a dismal third in the Shillong seat.
The Lok Sabha poll results are being seen as the outcome of the growing dissatisfaction among the state’s populace regarding the BJP-NPP partnership.
Despite the NPP leadership remaining supportive of its ties with the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance, there are increasing concerns at the grassroots level within the NPP about the viability of this partnership given the recent electoral mandate.
The alliance between the BJP and NPP was prominently displayed during the Lok Sabha election campaign, with both parties openly supporting each other. The opposition parties leveraged this connection, with the BJP even refraining from fielding its candidates in Meghalaya to ensure a smoother path for the NPP candidates.
However, this strategy faltered, particularly after Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s call for votes for the NPP in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi backfired, perhaps fuelling an anti-BJP and anti-NPP sentiment in the Garo Hills region.
