Shillong, Nov 5: The National People’s Party (NPP) will maintain its own identity and party symbol separate from the new North East political movement that NPP supremo and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had announced yesterday.
Yesterday’s announcement in New Delhi involved Sangma and other political figures from the North East, such as Pradyot Manikya of TIPRA Motha and Daniel Langthasa from Assam’s People’s Party. They said that they would form a single political entity in the next 45 days to raise issues of the region. This was the first step towards building a common platform and a committee is being constituted to deliberate on the future course of action, including the modalities and structure of the proposed political entity.
Today, NPP leader and Meghalaya Deputy CM Sniawbhalang Dhar said that this political union would not involve the merger of the NPP with other parties.
Addressing reporters, Dhar expressed surprise over the speculation. He further stated that discussions about any possible political realignment are premature and that, for now, the NPP remains aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led North Eastern Democratic Alliance (NEDA).
Meanwhile, when asked about Meghalaya’s lone Rajya Sabha MP seat, Dhar said there are no immediate plans for any reshuffle. “We have great respect for our current MP, who is a senior leader,” he said.
Wanweiroy Kharlukhi is said to have been sidelined in the NPP, with his faction losing out to Dhar’s in the recent cabinet reshuffle. Kharlukhi was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2020 and therefore has less than a year left in his term.
