Shillong, Jan 5: The opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) has asked the people of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills region to reject all the other political parties contesting the upcoming elections to the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) slated to be held on February 21.
It also referred to the Congress as a “political clown” and the United Democratic Party (UDP) as an “opportunist” for playing “holier than thou” despite being part of the National People’s Party (NPP)-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government.
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In an interview, VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said that the battlefield is very clear that it is going to be the VPP versus all other political parties in the upcoming ADC polls.
He said the Congress’ decision to pull out of the NPP-led EC in the KHADC at the fag end of the extended term is nothing but a political drama when the reality is that the Congress could be acting on the advice of the NPP because, after the election, they will be working together again.
“It (pulling out) is completely a drama. The Congress is like a political clown in the state of Meghalaya. When you look at the Congress, it is in a sorry state of affair but at the end of the day, it can be a collusion between the NPP and the Congress or it could be the advice of the NPP also for the Congress to take that step because they realise because the Congress somehow have some appeal to the people, so let the Congress fight the elections independently, pull out from the EC so that it may have a better image but ultimately after the election they will come together because now the fight is VPP versus all (political parties). So irrespective of whether they pull out or they don’t pull out it is a matter of their strategy,” Myrboh said.
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He also alleged, “You see all of them are on the same boat. Even at the state level, the NPP was able to form the government in the 2023 election because it was helped by Congress. So the Congress leadership in the state played the card so well to ensure that the NPP managed to form the government. All this was staged.”
Taking a jibe at the UDP, which is heading the opposition bench in the KHADC but is a coalition partner of the NPP in the state, the VPP leader said, ” You will see UDP is purely an opportunist. This opportunist party is always trying to project itself as the “holier than thou”, always criticizing the government for which they have been part of. Can you believe in 1998, they have always been part of the government – except from 2013 to 2018 so they have no moral ground when the state really lacks performance on various fronts, the Congress, the UDP, the NPP and the HSPDP, they are all accountable. Therefore, the battlefield is very clear, it is VPP versus all.”
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He further alleged that the toppling of the UDP-led EC in the KHADC might also be a game plan.
“UDP has been part of the government, they are made chairmen, co-chairmen, vice-chairmen and when they topple the EC in the district council, you don’t know what the game plan as it is too complex and simple solution is to reject them all. To solve the complexities is to reject them all,” Myrboh appealed to the people.
To a question on sitting MLAs contesting the ADC polls, the VPP spokesperson said that such decisions only reflect that they are scared.
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“They believe that if they contest, people would vote for them but I believe the people would reject them all because under the leadership of the present government – meaning NPP, UDP, HSPDP – the state is not performing well in many fronts and think of entrusting them with another responsibility, they want to pull down the state further. When you are a non-performer and you want another function and responsibility to be taken there is no logic,” he stated.
(Newmai News Network)
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