Correspondent
SHILLONG, OCT 6: Meghalaya chief minister and National People’s Party (NPP) president Conrad Sangma on Tuesday exuded confidence that the NPP will bounce back stronger in Nagaland after five of his party’s legislators crossed over to the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF).
Sangma was reacting to the merger of all five NPP lawmakers with the NPF, which completely wiped out the party’s presence in the 60-member Nagaland Assembly.
“This situation must ensure we come out stronger because of such challenges and not allow such challenges to break us down. NPP will move forward, we will recover from this and we will come out stronger not just in the state of Nagaland but in the entire North Eastern region,” he said.
Terming the defection of his party legislators in Nagaland as “part of politics,” Sangma said, “We have seen this many times in different parts of the country and in the North East. It is not something that has not happened in the past.”
However, he admitted the NPP is upset with the political development in Nagaland, noting that such situations are a reality in politics. “We have seen it happen in Arunachal Pradesh before and in Nagaland also before,” he added.
In a message to party workers, the NPP chief stressed that difficult times should reinforce commitment.
Reiterating that the NPP is firmly within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold, Sangma said the party continues to support coalition governments in the Northeast, pointing to the inclusive power-sharing model in Meghalaya as proof of the party’s commitment to its allies.