Manipur Elections 2022: Will be The King, Not Kingmaker This Time, Conrad Sangma Tells News18
Meghalaya chief minister and NPP president Conrad Sangma addresses a meeting in Manipur. (News18)
Sangma is confident that his party will be the king, not kingmaker this time in Manipur. Speaking to News18 amid campaigning, he hinted that Trinamool Congress MLAs from the Mukul Sangma camp were in touch with the NPP.
- News18.com Imphal
- Last Updated:February 20, 2022, 16:09 IST
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Meghalaya chief minister and National People's Party (NPP) president Conrad Sangma, often called the "dark horse" in North-Eastern politics, is camping in Manipur, as his party is set to contest 39 seats.
Sangma is confident that his party will be the king, not kingmaker in Manipur this time.
Speaking to News18 amid campaigning, he hinted that Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs from the Mukul Sangma camp were in touch with the NPP. He maintained that coalition is always challenging.
Excerpts from the interview:
RELATED STORIESYou supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) earlier and you are now contesting against them. Have friends turned foes?
Not necessary. When we formed the government, we studied the situation and went ahead with the alliance. That time, too, we fought alone. We did not have a pre-poll alliance. A lot of elections happened in the N-E even after that, but we always fought alone without a pre-poll alliance. We always do. We fight on our own terms. Let us see how the political situation unfolds after March 10.
What is the ground situation in Manipur?
There has been large-scale violence, candidates from certain political parties attacked our candidates, their houses and bombed them. Yesterday, they fired at our candidate's father. He had to undergo an operation. It is sad to see that some parties are resorting to violence. We are fighting on the basis of ideology, democratically. We are trying to convince people to vote for us. Such incidents are not good. We went to the EC. In today's world, there should be no space for violence in politics. We have demanded security for our candidates and steps to prevent such incidents in the future.
Did you feel that being a part of a coalition in Manipur was a mistake?
Coalition is never easy, you don't choose to be in it. I run a coalition of six political parties in Meghalaya, it is never easy, but you should find the balance. The key to move forward in a coalition is not stability. You can never be stable, you need to balance everything. You need to have trust, you need to consult with everyone.
Manipur CM Biren Singh says he has bad memories of the coalition…
One can say anything, I told you nobody chooses to be in a coalition. It's the situation that results in a coalition. It is up to the partner to make the best out of it
How was your experience in the Manipur coalition?
It was very challenging. We were promised many things in the beginning, but those were not fulfilled. Our deputy CM remained in the portfolio without a department for more than a year. The communication was done, but nothing happened. How do you justify that? No corrective measures were taken. This is not the way you build trust, it has to be equal partnership.
Analysts have called NPP the dark horse. Will you be the king or kingmaker?
It depends on our numbers. We are getting tremendous response on ground. A large number of winning candidates are with us. The way things have unfolded and with right candidates on our side, we feel we will be the single largest party.
What's your take on Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)? You said your candidates were intimidated using militants…
We have not named any party, but certain parties are intimidating through these means. We have a very clear stand on AFSPA. Our leader PA Sangma also had very clear view. As the situation is better, AFSPA should be repealed from the entire North-East.
After March 10, will you support the BJP if required?
It will depend on the numbers. We are a democratic party. Like in the past, we will sit together and decide what to do.
In Meghalaya, Mukul Sangma has gone to the TMC. Your take?
It is his decision. His step has divided and weakened the opposition. A weak opposition will definitely benefit us. The rest of the Congress MLAs supported us based on our work. Two days ago, one of the MDCs from his daughter's area defected from the TMC to NPP. That is good for us…
Are you looking at more defectors from the Mukul camp?
More people from the TMC could join us. We will welcome them and tell them to work together for development and build a stable government.
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