SHILLONG:
The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be adamant about leaving the government, but the party is unlikely to follow up on its now-and-then threat.
According to party sources, after the 2018 assembly elections, the BJP had played a prominent role in forming the government by bringing all the parties to form the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government just to keep the Congress out.
“Now how can we leave the alliance when in the first place we were instrumental in forming the coalition by bringing all the parties to deny the Congress the opportunity to form the government,” a BJP leader said.
It may be mentioned that after the 2018 assembly elections, the Congress had won 21 seats and the National People’s Party (NPP) won 19.
He also said that the final say in this matter lies with the central leadership of the party.
Sources said that it will be difficult for the BJP to leave the MDA coalition since the NPP is a part of the NDA at the Centre and the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).
Sources, however, also said that the members of the state unit of the BJP are in support of the party leaving the coalition.
Earlier, the BJP had accused the NPP of large-scale corruption and illegal activities such as rat-hole coal mining, irregularities in Saubhagya scheme, corruption in the autonomous district councils among others.
“All these allegations made by us have been proved right through the CAG report,” the leader said.
In early September, the party’s in-charge of the state M Chuba Ao had declared in a public event that the BJP will walk out of the government within a month.
However, even though Pynthorumkhrah legislator Alexander Laloo Hek is adamant that the BJP should leave the alliance, cabinet Minister Sanbor Shullai is not keen to do so.