The United Democratic Party (UDP) senses an opportunity to win the Shillong seat at next month’s Lok Sabha election as it projects itself as the only real option for the people of the constituency.
Senior UDP member Paul Lyngdoh today asserted that the party (which is fielding its candidate Robertjune Kharjahrin in alliance with the Hill State People’s Democratic Party) is in pole position in the race as the National People’s Party (NPP) has shot itself in the foot by allying with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which Meghalayans have always largely voted against. The Congress Party, according to the state cabinet minister, is a spent force, while the Voice of the People Party (VPP) is still too new.
The UDP has 12 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly, all of whom were elected from within the Shillong parliamentary constituency. Their HSPDP ally has a further two seats. The NPP, by contrast, has only won a “miniscule” number of seats in the same area.
Shillong has largely been a Congress bastion, with the party winning continuously for nearly three decades. Lyngdoh had himself run in 2014 but only finished third, behind the winner Vincent Pala and even behind independent candidate, the late PBM Basaiawmoit.
“It used to be a Congress bastion but the dynamics of politics in India has changed tremendously and that will be a boon for a party and an alliance like ours,” Lyngdoh said today. “On one hand there’s an aversion to the BJP, which is obvious. The fact that they didn’t put up a candidate in Meghalaya shows that they know that it’s pointless.”
The VPP is still a newcomer and does not have a strong enough presence outside East Khasi Hills, he added. “We are fighting in an environment where the leading national party (BJP) is not contesting the elections, NPP has chosen to ally with that party, Meghalaya has always voted against BJP, Congress is a spent force, VPP has a presence only in East Khasi Hills, so who has the better chances I leave that upon you to analyse,” Lyngdoh making it abundantly clear.
