Politicians who switch political parties are often given to extolling the virtues of their new colleagues and organisations, forgetting that they had spent much time previously attacking them.
This was the case today as well, where three politicians, including sitting MDCs Grace Mary Kharpuri and Fantin Lakadong, joined the National People’s Party (NPP).
Flattery will get you either nowhere or everywhere, depending on who you ask, and Kharpuri made sure to temper her remarks first by saying that she did not mean to flatter the Chief Minister, and NPP president, Conrad Sangma when she said, “Our Chief Minister is the most humble and down to earth I’ve ever come across. We need these types of political leaders to give love and understanding and to welcome everyone. Here in the NPP there’s an understanding between each other. So, I’m happy to join and looking forward to work harder for the betterment of the state.”
Kharpuri, the Nongshken MDC, won as a Congress candidate in 2019 but left the party that year, and has sat as an independent since, after she was denied a ticket to contest the Shella by-election.
She said today that she is ready to take on the criticism she is likely to face from some quarters for joining the NPP as they “don’t know the ground reality”.
Lakadong, the husband of East Shillong MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh, said that he joined the party due to the admiration he has for its leaders and said the move was backed “unanimously” by his supporters in his Laitumkhrah-Malki seat.
Somehow able to keep a straight face, he said that he has joined the NPP not for his own benefit but for that of his constituents. He recently quit the Congress, which is flailing about trying to avoid being reduced to a non-entity in Meghalaya. MDCs are not subject to any anti-defection law.
While his defection is of some significance in its own right, it is more important in that it suggests that Lyngdoh, currently suspended by the Congress, will also make the jump into the NPP’s arms.
NPP leaders welcomed the pair, as well as former Jirang MDC, WL Mynsong, into the party, with Sangma describing it as a blessing that so many leaders want to join his organisation.
