Shillong, Apr 10: Internal discussions are well underway in the National People’s Party (NPP) to help choose candidates for the upcoming Shillong Lok Sabha by-election and Rajya Sabha election.
Chief Minister and NPP supremo Conrad K Sangma today said that the party will meet to finalise its candidates within the next couple of weeks.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, NPP state working president and cabinet minister Marcuise N Marak said that the party will not form a pre-poll alliance for the Shillong by-election.
When asked about the decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party to field its own candidate, Sangma, a close ally of BJP, said that every political party has democratic right to contest the election.
The by-election was necessitated by the sudden death of the incumbent MP, Ricky AJ Syngkon in February. The Voice of the People Party (VPP) candidate had won a landslide in the general election in 2024, with the NPP’s then candidate, sitting MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh, finishing third. That year the BJP chose not to field a candidate but instead supported Lyngdoh.
Meanwhile, Wanweiroy Kharlukhi’s term is set to end in June and he is not seeking re-election to the Rajya Sabha. As the NPP and its allies have a massive majority in the Meghalaya Assembly, the party’s choice should sail through the election, which should be a mere formality.
