Shillong, March 5: The BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today announced a deal on propping up a consensus candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats in Meghalaya so as to jointly take on the Congress.
In a joint news conference today, the BJP and the NCP announced the formation of a co-ordination committee of both parties soon to decide whether to contest under the aegis of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or the United Democratic Front of Meghalaya.
Addressing the news conference, presidents of both the BJP and the NCP state units said the co-ordination committee would wait for the regional parties to respond to its proposal to field a common candidate for the Shillong seat. ?We have formally decided to support Purno A. Sangma for the Tura parliamentary seat, but for Shillong we will wait for the regional parties to come with their choice of a common candidate,? BJP president A.L. Hek said.
He was hopeful that the pre-poll marriage between the BJP and the NCP would convince the regional parties to accept their proposal to prop up a consensus candidate for Shillong. The regional parties are scheduled to hold a series of meetings from today, followed by ?a final get-together? on Monday.
All regional partners in the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) had earlier turned down the Congress proposal for a pre-poll alliance.
NCP president Edmund K. Sangma said the co-ordination committee formed with the BJP would also look into the possibility of working under the NDA banner.
Edmund Sangma made it clear that the NCP-BJP co-ordination committee would attach highest significance to ?a possible alliance? with the four regional parties. ?We have sent out feelers and are waiting for them to reply,? Edmund Sangma said.
Sources said the Congress is not very concerned about the NCP-BJP tie-up as both these parties do not have a strong presence in Khasi, Jaintia and Ri Bhoi districts. But its leadership is certainly wary of an understanding between regional parties with the BJP-NCP bloc. The Congress has been trying its best to keep the regional flock away from the BJP or the NCP.
Some senior leaders of the Congress like Ajit Jogi are busy trying their hand at some damage control by talking to the regional parties of the state. Chief minister D.D. Lapang, too, has yet again played the ?politician-militant nexus? card against the NCP. Lapang said yesterday that his government would not allow former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Sangma to get away so easily. Lapang said he has written to deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, apprising him of the A?chik National Volunteers? Council?s open support to the NCP leader.