Meghalaya CLP joins NCP

Shillong, July 12: The Nationalist Congress Party received a shot in the arm when all the 11 members of the Meghalaya Congress Legislature Party today formally merged with it. Announcing the merger, the NCP general secretary, PA Sangma, told a press conference here after the first-ever convention of the Meghalaya unit that Robert Kharshiing has been unanimously selected the president of the State unit. The other members will be selected shortly after consulting the district unit, he said claiming that many more former MLAs and district Congress committee members would join the NCP within a couple of days. Sangma said the party had received tremendous response from Assam, Mizoram and Meghalaya. However, the response from other States of the north-eastern region could be gauged only after his visit to those States. He will leave for Nagaland tomorrow. Meanwhile, no formal discussion was held till today regarding support of the United Democratic Party for the NCP in the Tura Parliamentary seat from where Sangma was elected for six consecutive terms. In the only other Lok Sabha constituency, Shillong, the two parties would fight independently, Sangma said.