Shillong, Sep 21: Former United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Bindo M Lanong has blamed the party leadership for the current situation amid a possible mass defection to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Speaking to Highland Post, Lanong, a former Deputy Chief Minister, said that now the rebel MLAs are talking openly about the possibility of leaving the party there is every likelihood that these developments are true.
At least eight of the party’s 12 MLAs in the Meghalaya Assembly are considering joining the BJP due to internal disagreements and unhappiness over the running of the UDP, which is led by Mairang MLA and cabinet minister Metbah Lyngdoh.
Lanong, who had his own disagreements with the party’s decision-making in the last few years, said that if the leadership was successful then the members would be happy and not leave the party.
Denied a UDP ticket to contest the 2023 state election, Lanong ran as an independent for the Nongkrem seat and finished dead last, even behind NOTA.
When asked, he said leaders who have thought of crossing over have already consulted their supporters and well-wishers, as has been the norm. “Looking at the news and hearing sources, it seems they have made up their mind but everything remains to be unfolded,” Lanong said.
Stating that if this really takes place, the UDP will be in a tight spot unless the remaining leaders come together and think afresh, Lanong said, “It’s sad to see a party we started in this situation but the present leader is to be blamed.”
The UDP was formed out of the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) in 1997 and Lanong was there at the beginning.
When asked if the BJP is engineering defections because it cannot grow on its own in Khasi-Jaintia Hills, the veteran politician said every party wants to grow stronger and have a majority and there is nothing strange about this in politics.
