SHILLONG, OCT 27: In a setback to the newly floated People’s Democratic Front (PDF), a sitting member of the KHADC from Nongkrem Hispreaching Son Shylla today formally joined the National People’s Party (NPP) claiming that this national party has full chance of replacing the ruling Congress and form the new government in 2018.
This is for the third time in a span of one year of his returned to politics that Shylla decided to switch over to a new party.
The former chief executive member of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) was re-elected on a United Democratic Party (UDP) ticket during the last year’s bye-election to the district council.
He later joined the People Democratic Front along with 11 other sitting MDCs who are also from different political parties which include the Congress onAugust 30.
Shylla, who is gearing up to give a tough fight to the HSPDP supremo Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit from Nongkrem constituency, was welcomed by the NPP state president Dr WR Kharlukhi in the presence of the party leaders at its head office here in the city on Friday.
Speaking to reporters, Shylla expressed confidence that the NPP, which is growing from strength to strength not only Garo Hills but also in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region, will come out as the single largest political party which will get absolute majority to form the new government.
“Unlike the regional political parties – UDP, HSPDP and PDF, which are concentrated only in Khasi Hills but weak in Jaintia Hills forget about Garo Hills, we need a party which is strong in the entire state,” he said while pointing this as one of the main reasons of joining the NPP.
Stating that forming of a non-Congress government is an issue in the upcoming polls, the veteran politician said, “With the BJP in power at the Centre, having a Congress government in the state will surely create a conflict situation. Therefore, the demand now is to ensure that the state government has a cordial relationship with the Centre in view that Meghalaya is a deficit state which depends on central funds.”
Shylla also said that he was also moved when the NPP national president Conrad K Sangma assured that the chief ministerial candidate will go to the region which won the highest number of MLAs in the forthcoming elections.
“He (Conrad) had also indicated that the former minister of the Congress government Prestone Tynsong to be a fit leader to become the next chief minister of the state,” he said.
Slamming the sitting MLA of Nongkrem for his alleged failure to bring development in the constituency, Shylla alleged when people go to the present elected representative, the excuse they get is that “he is helpless as he is not in power”.
“Therefore, we have discussed this matter as how to overcome such excuses in a meeting held on October 24 as people of the constituency this wants that the candidate from Nongkrem should be in power,” he added.
Asserting that his principle is to fulfill the aspiration of the electorate, Shylla also maintained that as long as he is contesting elections, he will always wear the badge of the NPP which he put it in his own words – a “No Permanent Party”.
By Our Reporter
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