SHILLONG, MAR 14: NPP leader and deputy chief minister Sniawbhalang Dhar on Tuesday said the party will conduct a post-mortem on the party’s poor performance in the Khasi Hills region in the just concluded Assembly polls.
“We will conduct a post-mortem on this after the Assembly’s budget session,” Dhar told reporters.
The National People’s Party (NPP) could manage to win only 8 seats from Khasi and Jaintia Hills region. Of these, two are from East Khasi Hills district.
“(The results in) Jaintia Hills are okay as we have already predicted to get between 4-6 seats. Similarly, in Ri Bhoi, we also predicted 1-3 seats but it was a little bit unexpected in Khasi Hills region,” he said.
When asked if the anti-incumbency against the NPP was high in the Khasi Hills region, Dhar however said, “It is difficult (to say) as we are yet to know the actual reason why we lose many seats in Khasi Hills region. Therefore, we will conduct a postmortem as soon as the budget session is over in order to improve in the next election.”
The deputy chief minister refused to agree that the NPP is not acceptable to the people of the Khasi Hills region and said, “There are many factors. You know in Khasi Hills, there are so many parties – UDP, PDF, BJP, NPP, VPP. But it does not mean that it (NPP) is not accepted. To get 26 seats in the whole state it is not a joke.”
Commenting on the recent protest to demand for a chief minister from Khasi-Jaintia region, Dhar said, “Demanding for a Khasi chief minister I think is totally wrong as we have to respect the mandate of the people. It is as simple as that.”
He said if the people want the chief minister to be from Khasi-Jaintia region, let them vote for one party from the region.
“Let them vote for one party from the Khasi side, simple as that. They can vote for UDP, for NPP if they want but they vote differently. What can we say,” he said.
On the other hand, Dhar admitted that the party’s prospects in few constituencies like Nongkrem and Mawlai were affected by the coming of the newly floated Voice of the People Party (VPP).
With regards to the performance of the All India Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, the NPP leader said that both the parties are yet to be accepted in the state of Meghalaya.
“If the party can obtain 2-3 seats it means that they are not accepted by the people of the state,” he added.
By Our Reporter
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