NPP national president and Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma today tried to play down the statement by BJP leader and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarm against the NPP.
During an election campaign in Moirang, Manipur yesterday, Sarma had mocked NPP, saying that no one in India knows of such a party. He even urged people not to waste their vote for NPP candidates in the Manipur elections as the party has “no value”.
Sarma said that after the Manipur election, the BJP would form the next government on its own and there would be no place for the NPP.
Sarma is the convener of the BJP-led alliance of regional parties – North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) of which NPP is one of its constituents.
When media persons sought his reaction on Sarma’s comments against NPP, Sangma said, “Himanta Biswa Sarma has said it as a BJP leader and that is his view. In election campaigns everybody will give their speeches. If you listen to our speeches, we also have spoken in favour of our party and that is how we go in elections.”
Sangma also said the other political parties are worried by the growing strength of the NPP in the North East region.
Referring to the recent attacks on NPP candidates contesting for the Manipur Assembly elections slated from February 28, Sangma said, “From a political angle, if you look at it, it does reflect that there is a certain growth in the NPP which other parties could be worried about and that is why these kinds of attacks are taking place.”
The NPP, which won four seats in the 2017 elections, has this time put up 38 candidates while the BJP fielded candidates in all the 60 seats in the Manipur elections.
