The NCP-United Democratic Party-led Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) has decided to put up a common candidate for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat in the 2009 Parliamentary elections.Former Lok Sabha speaker and NCP general secretary Purno A Sangma said on Tuesday: “We are in discussions with the UDP for finding a consensus candidate for the Shillong seat for the the Lok Sabha elections.” In its executive committee meeting held on Tuesday, the NCP rued its inability to make a significant foray into the Khasi and Jaintia Hills districts of Meghalaya in the March 3 State election—it only managed to pick up two seat— and won the rest of its 13 seats from the Garo Hills district. However, it hopes to alter the situation in the 2009 District Councils and Parliamentary elections. After the committee meeting on Tuesday, NCP state secretary and Deputy Chief Minister Timothy D Shira said that the party has urged its workers to pull up their socks and to start preparing for the elections.According to Shira, many party leaders felt that the NCP’s poor performance in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills was because it was perceived to be Garo Hills-based party. “There were rumours spread by rivals that the NCP is neither a national nor regional but a Garo party. We didn’t counter that effectively,” he admitted.However, as far as vote share is concerned, the NCP is satisfied with the number of votes that it got in the 2008 Assembly election. Shira said that the party had won only 43,000 votes in 2003, but had doubled its vote share to 87,000 in 2008.“We are happy that the NCP has increased its votes share in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, but the party candidates must work hard for the coming elections,” said Shira.
