By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 2: The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) seems to be grappling with a politically fraught dilemma ahead of the Rajya Sabha poll scheduled for June 18: whether to nominate senior party leader James P.K. Sangma or former bureaucrat Himalaya Muktan Shangpliang. While the party commands more than enough numbers in the Meghalaya Assembly to guarantee its nominee’s victory, the real headache lies elsewhere — in balancing ethnic faultlines and internal power blocs.
The Rajya Sabha seat has traditionally been shared between Khasi-Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills. With incumbent MP, Wanwei Roy Kharlukhi’s tenure scheduled to end soon, the NPP’s Garo Hills leaders have upped the ante by demanding a Garo representative in parliament this time.
Sources inside the NPP say the decision has boiled down to a stark choice: a Garo candidate (Sangma) or a Khasi-Jaintia candidate (Shangpliang). That choice has set off bitter whisper campaigns and closed-door manoeuvrings, exposing growing factionalism within the party.
Some leaders argue that nominating Shangpliang would consolidate NPP’s hold over the Khasi-Jaintia belt and reward loyalty to the central leadership. Others counter that bypassing Sangma— a prominent Garo face — risks alienating the Garo faction and could fracture the party’s fragile coalition in the run-up to the 2028 Assembly polls.
Cabinet Minister and NPP leader Wailadmiki Shylla, however, downplayed suggestions of discord within the party over the upcoming Rajya Sabha election, saying differences in individual preferences should not be read as divisions. He framed the NPP as a cohesive outfit that will respect whatever decision the high command takes.
Shylla reiterated that the final call rests with the leadership and affirmed that members will support the nominee chosen by the party high command, even as analysts warn that the nomination could test the party’s internal cohesion in Meghalaya’s delicate ethnic and political landscape.
