Despite arguably being the weakest of the multitude of regional parties that share space in Khasi-Jaintia Hills, the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) is hoping to make a comeback at next year’s KHADC election.
KHNAM did not even contest the recent Assembly election. It had won just one seat in 2018 but a leadership dispute with the MLA, Adelbert Nongrum, led to him quitting the party in favour of the new Voice of the People Party (VPP), which made a big splash by winning four seats (including Nongrum’s North Shillong).
In a statement today, KHNAM general secretary F Marpna said that the party has not vanished “but still exists and is preparing for the district council election next year.”
He was reacting to a social media post by a leader of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council about the apparent demise of many regional parties, including KHNAM.
Stating that too many regional forces has only weakened the whole and allowed “outsiders to interfere” in state politics, Marpna said that KHNAM is open to working together with other like-minded parties to achieve unity.
