Deputy Chief Minister and senior NPP leader Sniawbhalang Dhar today said that the NPP is currently carrying out the post mortem of the recent Lok Sabha election to find out where the party went wrong.
He was replying to queries by the media on the humiliating defeat by the NPP in both Shillong and Tura parliamentary constituencies. The party was routed in the polls that its candidate Ampareen Lyngdoh was pushed to the third position.
“We are doing a post mortem on why and where we went wrong. In every election we used to do a post mortem. If we win or lose we always introspect so that we can correct wherever we are lacking,” Dhar said.
He also downplayed the impact of the recent Lok Sabha poll results on the Assembly elections in 2028.
“The elections to the Assembly, District Council or Lok Sabha are all very different from each other,” he added.
Respecting the mandate of the public, Dhar said that winning and losing elections is part of politics.
“The political parties must have learnt from their mistakes and will correct their mistakes and perform better,” he mentioned.
Stating that the NPP-led government had worked tirelessly for the people, Dhar said that certain shortcomings on the part of the government may have led the people to vote for another party.
“There may be doubts among the citizens about our government and maybe they weren’t happy,” he said.
“Nevertheless, we as public representatives will continue to work as much as we can for the best interest of the public. We are not partial to anyone. We want to apologise for our shortcomings so that from here forward we can improve and work harder,” Dhar assured.
‘Current wave for VPP not new’
Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar today said that the current political wave favouring one political party is not a new phenomenon in Meghalaya.
Speaking to media persons here, Dhar said that the landslide victory of the VPP in the recent Lok Sabha election from Shillong seat should serve as a learning experience for the NPP and other parties, allowing them to identify and improve upon their mistakes.
He pointed out that in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, all odds were against the then Lok Sabha MP Vincent H. Pala of Congress, with all political parties in the ruling MDA-1 fighting against him.
“Nevertheless, Pala managed to secure a landslide victory by gathering 4.20 lakh votes, winning in 35 out of 36 constituencies, with the ruling alliance’s candidate winning only in the Khliehriat constituency,” Dhar said.
He also mentioned that the current surge in favour of the VPP might not occur again, cautioning against underestimating the voters.
Dhar suggested that the VPP could potentially increase its number of seats in the 2028 Assembly polls, but such a massive wave may not be repeated.
He further stated that various political parties, including NPP and UDP, still have more than three years to strengthen and solidify their positions.
