SHILLONG:
United Democratic Party (UDP) East Khasi Hills district president Titosstarwell Chyne has said that there is no unity among the regional parties in the state.
Speaking to reporters, Chyne commented on the unification of regional parties, which was one of the aspirations of late UDP leader Donkupar Roy, saying, “We have time and again said that, as one of the largest regional parties in the state, we want to see unity. But as days go by, we see disunity.”
Chyne, however, said mutual understanding within the Regional Democratic Alliance (RDA) still exists as candidates from UDP and HSPDP are working at the constituency level.
The RDA was a pre-poll alliance formed in 2017 between the UDP, one the largest regional parties in the state, and the Hill State People’s Democratic Alliance (HSPDP).
Chyne said the alliance continues to exist even though the leaders of the two parties have not yet sat for a meeting and maintained that there is mutual understanding within the RDA.
Informing that both parties are working at the constituency level, he said, “Election is election, we will have our grounds, our principles and it is up to the candidates as to how they work. In Umroi, the leaders of UDP and HSPDP met to decide on a common candidate.”
He further said that in Sohra, the HSPDP candidate, Droistar Khongsti, who contested the 2018 elections has decided to support him.
He said that it is up to the people to decide which party to go with, however, he said that in 2018, UDP won only six seats and nothing could be done even if HSPDP and KHNAM were combined