SHILLONG, NOVEMBER 13: NPP national president and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said today that the formation of a regional front will not affect the party’s alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. “No, we have always been in alliance with the NDA, we are very clear about it. Even now I have my BJP minister; TIPRA Motha is part of the government, so it is very clear on that part,” he said.
On November 4, Sangma, along with founder of TIPRA Motha Pradyot Bikam Manikya Deb Barma, former BJP leader and former Nagaland minister Mmhonlumo Kikon, and founder of the People’s Party Daniel Langthasa, announced their decision to form a new united political entity to represent the aspirations of the people of the Northeast.
Sangma explained that the emerging regional grouping aims to create a stronger platform for addressing common issues. “What we are saying is that we are coming together to ensure that we have a stronger platform to take up issues. This is not a fight against any individual but a realization that we must all come together to bring unity so that we are stronger as a front and as leaders of the Northeast, enabling us to talk to other leaders with much more gravity and strength in the days to come,” he said.
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Responding to concerns that not all regional parties—such as those from Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Arunachal—have been consulted, Sangma described the development as a process. “It is a process. It is not that we have now decided that everybody will just come at the click of a button and all are going to merge. It is not like that. This has never happened before. We are starting a process where a few of us have decided to come together, and consultation is taking place among the parties. They will decide how they move forward, and in the process, they will start consulting with others who would be interested and want to come forward.”
He added, “We have realized the importance of having unity among the Northeast so that we are in a much stronger political position to take up issues that matter to us as a region. We have faced many situations in the past, and we would like to see the same concern and voice reflected. Thus, we intend to put the team together and become stronger.”