The Meghalaya BJP state executive meeting held here on Saturday skipped the discussion on its preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls even as its main focus was to first assess its performances in the past and then plan its move accordingly.
The state executive meeting was attended by state BJP leaders including president Shibun Lyngdoh and BJP national spokesperson in-charge Meghalaya Nalin Kohli.
Kohli told reporters after the meeting that after national executive meeting all states have to hold their state executive meeting.
“It is a routine meeting of the party which has to be done and we are supposed to do so every few months,” he said.
Asked about BJP’s preparations in Meghalaya for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Kohli said, “We have not discussed this agenda per se. At the moment the focus is in terms of assessing about our performances in the past (Assembly polls). People’s suggestions were there and also make a plan of the activities which we wished to do as a political party.”
On preparations for the upcoming elections to the autonomous district councils in the state, Kohli said that the issue came up at the state executive meeting.
“We have asked the party to get down to its activities and make an assessment. The BJP is a political party that is going to focus at elections. How much it has to be and who will be our candidates is still an assessment that has to be done on that.”
The BJP is part of the six-party coalition Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government being led by the National People’s Party (NPP) and supported by the United Democratic Party (UDP) and other parties and Independents.
On the UDP’s move to have a common candidate by the coalition MDA for the Lok Sabha polls, Kohli said, “I have not involved in any such discussion. Every political party is entitled to prepare for any election. Whether there is a common candidate or not, that is only when such discussions come up. As an in-charge of the party nobody has approached me and I have had no discussions with anybody on this issue. Whether there is going to be a common candidate of the MDA or fight separately is a matter that we have not discussed. But we have seen in the by-election to Ranikor constituency too the constituents of MDA did contest against each other. I cannot say anything on this without any input.”