SHILLONG:
The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has informed that the party is yet to finalise candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha although there are four to five aspirants.
The state sends two Lok Sabha Members of Parliament from the two seats of Shillong and Tura.
“As of now we are in the process of strengthening the party (in Meghalaya),” state party president Ernest Mawrie said on Saturday.
Mawrie informed that on July 9, senior BJP leaders of 12 states in east and north-east India met in Guwahati to strategise on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The party informed that in this particular meeting, it had resolved that it wished to win all the 25 seats in the North East so that the region could be represented by the party en bloc and voice the region’s issues strongly in Delhi.
The BJP state president also pointed out that some states in the North East are represented by alliance partners like Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram who are part of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).
“But at the moment we are not talking about them, we are strengthening the BJP,” he said while stating that the ultimate decision will be made by the central leadership of the party.
Mawrie also informed that Union Minister for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrashekhar, who is Lok Sabha Pravas in-charge Meghalaya, will be visiting the state from September 13 to 15 to oversee the preparation of the party for the parliamentary polls here.
“We have four to five candidates who have approached us for contesting the Lok Sabha polls but we told them we cannot commit anything at the moment,” the state party chief said.
He also said that the Lok Sabha Pravas will give his report to the central leadership of the party after assessing the situation on the ground and then only a decision on the candidates will be finalised.