The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not leave the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), as it has threatened to do so numerous times, because it is only a toothless tiger, National People’s Party (NPP) state president and Rajya Sabha MP WR Kharlukhi said today.
Although part of the MDA, the BJP, at least sections of it, have continually been critical of the government, be it over illegal mining, implementation of central schemes, etc.
On October 18, BJP state president Ernest Mawrie said that the next government will definitely include the saffron party. Although far from claiming that the party will take a majority in the Assembly at the elections due by March 2023, Mawrie’s message was clear – that there will be no government without the BJP. Similar statements have been made by visiting party leaders.
Kharlukhi rubbished this statement, saying that it is quite possible that the BJP, which won just two seats in 2018, could be wiped out in 2023 and thus would not be in the government at all.
“Which constitution says that without the BJP a government cannot be formed? And what if they get zero seats?” he stated.
BJP legislator and former cabinet minister AL Hek has made it clear that other parties will make a beeline for the BJP once the election is held and that the saffron party will play a huge role in the formation of a government.
During a recent visit, BJP Mahila Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan opined that no government could be formed without the BJP and the same view was expressed by Chuba Ao, the BJP’s official in charge of Meghalaya. Union minister Kiren Rijiju, meanwhile, had said that it would be “unfortunate” if the party were not included in the government.
