There is no chance that the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) will merge with the National People’s Party (NPP).
This was stated by one of the minor party’s two MLAs, Shakliar Warjri, who is also a cabinet minister in the Meghalaya government.
Speaking to reporters today, Warjri, the first-time representative for Mawthadraishan, said that this is the first that he has heard of the suggestion.
Recently, there have been moves at the highest levels of the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) to merge with the NPP. Unlike the HSPDP, the PDF has no cabinet berths as it was the last party to join the NPP for a second stint in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance coalition government.
The HSPDP is decades old compared to the handful of years that the PDF has been around. Although it has yet to break out of its West Khasi Hills base, it seems unlikely that, other than the two MLAs, the party would want to give up its unique identity, which was forged in the struggle for a separate hill state.
Warjri reiterated that no discussions have taken place about a potential merger.
