Journalism of Courage
Even as Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP) has staked claim to form the government in Meghalaya, some former allies have created roadblocks in the last two days. The largest among them is the United Democratic Party (UDP) which, in a surprise move, is trying hard to stitch up an anti-NPP coalition with other parties like the Trinamool Congress. A constituent of the previous NPP-led ruling alliance, the UDP has emerged as the second largest party this election, winning 11 out of the 46 seats it contested. Excerpts from an interview with UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh:
Mawthoh: The only thing I can say right now is that there is an anti-MDA mood among the people, as far as the Khasi-Jaintia Hills are concerned. (The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance or MDA was the NPP-led coalition that ruled from 2018-2023, and included the BJP and UDP, among others.) Although the UDP was part of the same coalition government, we had to suffer. We provided much-needed stability in the last government, but sometimes we had to swallow bitter pills of being partners in this government. Now, in the Khasi-Jaintia hills, they don’t want the NPP anymore — that is the mood of the people.
Mawthoh: The fact of the matter is that the NPP has secured the largest number of seats. The UDP has got the second largest, with 11 seats. If we cannot form a government with other like-minded partners, we might as well be in the Opposition. Why (should we) join the NPP?
Mawthoh: Initially it was all bhai-bhai. But many times during the last five years we expressed dissatisfaction (with the way they worked), but things did not improve. The UDP also has inadequacies and shortcomings but (as coalition partners) we wanted to resolve things together, with mutual respect and understanding. But that respect was not there. They went ahead with many decisions (setting up of casinos, the border agreement with Assam). Moreover, the allegations that it was a corrupt government did not sit well with many UDP leaders. Then ahead of the elections, the chief minister helped the NPP candidates pump schemes where UDP candidates were contesting. That is not done… mutual respect was missing.
Mawthoh: We jumped from 6 to 11, but it is nothing to be that excited about since we feel that we could have done much better. We suffered losses because we were part of the MDA. We were expecting to cross 20 seats, but the anti-MDA undercurrents played spoilsport for us in some constituencies. The image of the party has been hit because we were tagged along with the NPP.
Mawthoh: Absolutely not. The UDP represents the interests, dreams and aspirations of all the people of the state. The UDP is not a Khasi party, it is a state party. If we were focused only on the Khasi Hills, we would not have put up so many candidates in the Garo Hills. We also put up candidates from other communities such as Rabha and Koch. So the UDP is a state party. If we come to power, we will try to ensure political accountability, strengthen administrative machinery in the state and focus on a good Centre–state relationship.
