UDP for setting up common candidates for upcoming MP elections

SHILLONG, AUG 30: The United Democratic Party (UDP), which is the main ally of the ruling NPP-led MDA government, today proposed the idea of setting up common candidates for the two parliamentary seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, to be held next year.

With the district council elections just six months away, the party also expressed the need to introduce the much-needed anti-defection law in the three autonomous district councils (ADCs) to prevent the shifting of allegiance by MDCs from one party to another.

“(Though) we have not discussed this with the NPP (yet) but we would to have a common candidate for the MP elections,” UDP supremo and Assembly Speaker Donkupar Roy told reporters here on Thursday.

Whether the UDP would propose to field former Nongthymmai legislator Jemino Mawthoh as its official candidate for the Shillong Parliamentary seat, Roy however said that the party is yet to finalize the names.

While stating that the MDC elections is a district-based politics, the UDP chief however maintained that the party would like to fight the upcoming elections to the Khasi and Jaintia district councils on its own.

“What the party feels is that in the MDC elections we may go on our own. We will not discuss about pre-poll alliance or anything because we will know what the post-poll scenario is,” he said.

When asked if the MDA and its partners would demand the Centre to speed up amendment of the Sixth Schedule to have the anti-defection law in the ADCs, Roy said, “You see all the parties and the government expressed this opinion to the Centre that in fact we would like to have some sort of anti-defection act even for the MDCs also.”

He further pointed out to the usual trend in the district councils where many MDCs after being elected from different political parties within few months left to join other political parties.

“This is a problem we are concern about and in fact what we need is more responsible and discipline persons to be MDCs,” he added.

However, the UDP chief does not subscribe to the idea of postponing the ADC polls pending the amendment of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India by saying that the elections should be held on time (after every five years), which is as per the Constitution.

By Our Reporter