Shillong, Jun 3: After a less than spectacular maiden political innings, Robertjune Kharjahrin today tendered his resignation from the United Democratic Party (UDP), ostensibly over the party’s support to James PK Sangma as candidate for Meghalaya’s only Rajya Sabha seat.
The UDP decided to go along with the National People’s Party (NPP) candidate. Both parties are members of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government.
Kharjahrin has been fairly quiet since he garnered just 4.29 percent of the vote in the Shillong Lok Sabha election in 2024. He had been made a Vice-President of the party, though, and this resignation is thus a very senior one.
He was not present last week when the UDP unveiled VGK Kynta as its pick for the Shillong by-election and has now broken with the regional outfit altogether.
In his resignation letter, Kharjahrin, a former pressure group leader, said that supporting Sangma’s candidature “left me deeply disturbed and unable to reconcile my conscience with the party’s present course.”
Opposing the NPP in the by-election but supporting its candidate in the Rajya Sabha poll sends a contradictory and confusing message to the electorate, Kharjahrin added.
