Shillong, May 07: The National People’s Party (NPP) in Meghalaya has increased its number of MLAs to 28 after the merger of a regional political party. The NPP requires three more seats to achieve a simple majority in the 60-member Meghalaya House.
During the February 27 Assembly elections, the NPP won 26 seats, up from 19 in 2018, while the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) won two.
NPP leader Conrad K. Sangma referred to the merger as the marriage between the two parties after being in a relationship for five years.
After signing the merger document with PDF chief Gavin Miguel Mylliem, Sangma referred to the merger as a love story. The two parties share the same goals, visions, and ideas for the state, he added. Mylliem is one of the two PDF legislators, the other being the party’s working president, Banteidor Lyngdoh.
Sangma and Mylliem signed a merger document with conditions laid down by the PDF, such as the implementation of an inner-line permit (ILP), resolving the boundary row with Assam, and recognizing the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
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The ILP is a temporary travel document for Indians entering specific areas of the northeast. It is currently in force in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland.
Sangma stated that the NPP is one of the six national parties of the country with seven MLAs in Manipur and an excellent network. He added that the NPP was able to help students who were stuck in Manipur, which other political parties from Meghalaya would not have been able to do.
Lyngdoh stated that the merger would not have been possible with only Mylliem and him deciding or wanting it. The support of the PDF’s general executive council made the merger possible. On the two parties that have gone against each other during the election campaign, Lyngdoh said there are no permanent friends and enemies in politics.
