SHILLONG:
BJP state president Ernest Mawrie on August 30 said the party is yet to receive any official communication from the former Mawsynram legislator and party spokesperson, Himalaya M Shangpliang, about his decision to join the ruling National People’s Party (NPP).
“We have not received any official communication from Himalaya Shangpliang that he is planning or has decided to leave the party,” Mawrie said.
He said the party only came to know about the development from media reports on the statement made by deputy chief minister and NPP leader Sniawbhalang Dhar confirming that Shangpliang had approached the NPP for a ticket for Shillong parliamentary seat.
Mawrie, however, said that this was despite the fact that the BJP had done a lot of good things for Shangpliang.
“He has contested from Mawsynram on BJP ticket (in 2023 Assembly polls) and we helped him a lot financially, physically and you have seen lots of ministers also went to his constituency to campaign for him. We spent our time trying our best to make him win from the BJP but it is the mandate of the people, who did not support him to be the party MLA from Mawsynram constituency.
On top of that, just after the election, we have appointed him as a spokesperson of the party and regarding the job reservation policy, we nominated him as the chairman of that committee. So we have given him a lot of responsibility and now he has to make his own decision as we cannot bind or say you don’t leave the party, you stay with the party,” he stated.
When asked, the BJP state president said that Shanpgliang had discussed with him several times expressing his keen interest to contest the Lok Sabha elections on the party ticket.
“However, I told him that when the time comes, we will recommend your name and some other names as we have not decided till today,” he said.
Mawrie further revealed that Shangpliang had also requested him to talk to coalition partners for fielding a common MDA candidate for the upcoming LS polls.
“And one condition, he verbally requested me that as president of the party, if you can have a dialogue or if you can have a discussion with the biggest party in the coalition, that this time let us field an MDA candidate. So that condition I cannot decide as the central leadership will have to decide as we have to call a meeting of all the MDA partners and as a state president I don’t have any authority to decide on that. I told him that so it ended there,” he said.
Stating that the BJP is yet to decide on the candidates for both Shillong and Tura parliamentary seats, Mawrie however said, “Shangpliang can come and meet with the party leaders, MLAs and in-charge of Meghalaya and North East, if he has any grievances. He has to come and sit with us.”
He added in fact, the party had also received information from mandal people in Mawsynram that they are going to quit the BJP and join the NPP adding “Then again yesterday, it was a big statement given by the leader of the NPP.”
“As you know, NPP is part of NDA so we have not discussed it yet . Maybe from the Centre they will give a call to me and ask me about this and they may direct me to have a cordial discussion with the MDA partners,” he said.