In something of a blow to the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP), the president of its youth wing, Sandondor Ryntathiang, and 18 other post-holding members have resigned from the party with the intention of joining the Voice of the People Party (VPP).
The HSPDP garners most of its strength from West and South West Khasi Hills but the venerable old party that was at the forefront of creating Meghalaya as a separate state more than 50 years ago has only two MLAs in the Assembly, half the number of the nascent VPP, which made a splash at its first elections this year, winning four.
Speaking to Highland Post, Ryntathiang said that he and the other members had stuck with the HSPDP to strengthen its regional-centric ideology but the party has been diminishing day by day.
“They (the senior leaders) keep saying that it is a party with principles and this and that but the fact is that the HSPDP keeps diminishing and it’s hard for us to stick by the party if we cannot express ourselves,” he said, adding that principles without results can only count for so much.
On why he and the other defectors want to join the VPP, Ryntathiang said that many of them have been with the HSPDP since the time of Ardent Basaiawmoit, who eventually went on to form the VPP.
“We have decided to join the VPP because it is there that we can find a strong leadership and where we can really work on the principle to strengthen the regional ideology to uplift the people and the state,” he explained.
The HSPDP was in a position to play kingmaker after the results of the state elections earlier this year but the party’s two MLAs decided to take the decision on their own initiative to support the National People’s Party-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance without going through the central leadership first, which demonstrated a lack of discipline in the party; left with little option, the party had to accept the fait accompli.
When asked, Ryntathiang declined to say whether this was a factor or not in the move to leave the HSPDP for the VPP, which has staked out an independent corner of the opposition.
Elections are once again around the corner, with the KHADC and JHADC polls and Lok Sabha election next year.
“Elections come and go but our sole purpose to join the VPP is to strengthen and propagate the party ideology more, including to support the real political change that the VPP espouses and not with any other hidden intention as we never discussed such matters,” Ryntathiang maintained.
