The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) on Monday said that the proposal of its ally, the United Democratic Party (UDP) to consider having a ‘common candidate’ of the MDA coalition in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Shillong constituency has not come officially.
The UDP had come up with an idea of fielding common candidates by the MDA from Tura Lok Sabha seat and Shillong Lok Sabha seat next year.
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The UDP said that an NPP candidate should be the common candidate of the MDA from Tura Lok Sabha seat, and the UDP nominee should be the common candidate of the MDA from Shillong constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections next year.
However NPP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong told reporters that the party has not received any official proposal from the UDP on the need to have a common candidate.
“There is nothing official as yet. We have seen this only through the media but there was nothing official,” Tynsong reiterated.
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The NPP leader said that if there was such a proposal, the matter could have been discussed by the MDA partners at the MDA Coordination Committee.
The MDA Coordination Committee is being headed by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma.
Earlier UDP senior leader Bindo M. Lanong had said, “Lack of understanding among the MDA partners may affect and bring instability in the MDA government. I feel we have a better chance to win both the seats (Shillong and Tura) if we have common candidates.”
“Our proposal is that, the NPP should set up its candidate from Tura, and supports the UDP from Shillong,” Lanong had said.
Lanong said that Central Executive Committee of the UDP had accepted two former legislators of the party – Jemino Mawthoh and Paul Lyngdoh as aspirants for party ticket from the Shillong Lok Sabha constituency.
The UDP has fixed October 31 as the date for finalizing an official candidate of the party from among the two.
On being asked if there is a threat to the MDA government if the proposal of the UDP does not materialized, Tynsong said, “As the proposal has not been received officially and yet to be discussed by all MDA partners, there is no question of threat to the MDA government.”