SHILLONG:
A day after the National People’s Party (NPP) lost many of its supporters in Ranikor, Kitborlang Nongrem, the state president of the National People’s Youth Front (NPYF) – a youth wing of the NPP, on January 31, clarified that the reason cited by the deserters was bereft of substance, asserting that there was no misunderstanding between ex-MLA MM Danggo and the party leaders.
Hundreds of Danggo’s supporters quit the NPP and joined the BJP on January 30, citing a lack of support from the NPP leaders as one of the main reasons.
Furthermore, they alleged the NPYF state president Kitborlang Nongrem of plotting to ensure Danggo’s defeat and UDP’s Pius Marwein’s victory in the upcoming polls from the Ranikor constituency.
Denying all the allegations, Nongrem today clarified that the WhatsApp message, that showed him talking about ensuring victory for UDP candidates – Pius Marwein and Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar, was an old message written on August 5, 2022.
He clarified that the comment he had made in 2022 was in response to a remark made by one YouTuber, calling the 36 Khasi and Jaintia MLAs “useless”.
“This is not a new message. It was circulated since that time; there is no connection between this message and the decision of the NPP supporters to leave the party to join the BJP. They simply raked up this issue because they have no other excuses or reasons to cite for leaving the party,” he said.
“If you go through the messages, you can see that I was standing by the party when others had called the NPP a Garo party. Even then I had clarified that NPP is a national party recognised by the Election Commission of India. So, to say that I was indulging in anti-party activities is not correct,” he added.
He added that all this appeared scripted with reports indicating Danggo had met North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on January 28 along with party legislator Alexander Laloo Hek.
Admitting that the exit of the party supporters will greatly impact the NPP in Ranikor, the NPYF state president said that one cannot overlook the ripple effect the split would have on the party’s prospects in the upcoming elections.
“Yes, a split in the party will greatly impact us in Ranikor. But then again, most of the supporters who went to Shillong Club yesterday had no idea about the outcome. They thought it was an NPP meeting and when they found out it wasn’t, they rushed back to the NPP office in Shillong,” Nongrem claimed.
He further informed that the party will organise a general meeting on Feb 2 to reconstitute the party unit in Ranikor and to discuss whether or not to field a new candidate in the constituency.
It may be mentioned that Danggo’s supporters said they will force him to contest the upcoming polls from the Ranikor constituency on a BJP ticket.
However, Danggo, whose candidature was recently announced from Ranikor, is yet to resign from the NPP.