Shillong, Nov 2: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said on Tuesday the NPP and the UDP, the allies in the MDA government, did not have an “understanding” for the bypolls.
“We were committed to our candidates and our parties. We have always maintained that we are coalition partners who will always respect each other and work together towards the overall agenda of development in the state. Beyond that, when it comes to elections, we respect each other and wherever the UDP and NPP have to contest, we contest against each other,” said Sangma.
Of the three Assembly constituencies, NPP has won two and UDP one. In fact, the two seats which NPP bagged were traditionally Congress’s stronghold. With this, the party’s MLA count goes to 23. Both NPP and UDP fielded candidates in Mawphlang.
When asked whether the gain in seats will be followed by a Cabinet reshuffle, Sangma said the NPP is not an opportunist and takes every decision in consultation with the coalition partners.
“It is not simply because we have won these two seats that we get up in the morning tomorrow and say we don’t need our coalition partners. Let the new MLAs take oath, settle down and meet their people, we will sit down and move further,” he added.
