The ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) is expected to announce its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election on Wednesday afternoon following consultations among coalition partners, Chief Minister and National People’s Party (NPP) National president Conrad K. Sangma said, indicating that the alliance could unveil its nominee by around 3 p.m. after a key meeting at the State Guest House in Shillong.
Speaking to reporters, Sangma said the NPP Legislature Party had met on Tuesday at the Chief Minister’s residence and arrived at a broad understanding on the matter. He said a meeting of the MDA partners would be held on Wednesday and the alliance would move forward only after consultations with all coalition constituents.
“So we had the Legislature Party meeting of the National People’s Party yesterday at the CM residence right here and we have come to a conclusion that today our meeting of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance partners will take place at the state guest house and after we have a consultation with the MDA partners and only then will we move forward,” Sangma said.
The Chief Minister said discussions and consultations were still underway and it would not be appropriate to disclose any details before a consensus was reached. He expressed confidence that the outcome of the deliberations would be announced at a press conference later in the afternoon.
“This is said by today, by about 3 o’clock, we should be able to have a press conference and give the details of the outcome of the discussions,” he said.
The NPP chief said a few names were under consideration and would be discussed further with the coalition partners. He noted that suggestions from alliance members would also be taken into account before arriving at a final decision.
Sangma emphasised that the Rajya Sabha nominee would not merely represent the NPP but would serve as a representative of Meghalaya and all constituents of the ruling coalition. Stressing the importance of consensus, he said the alliance wanted to ensure that all partners were on board before finalising the candidate.
“At the end of the day, as the MDA, we have to be together and work together and therefore, this is an important decision,” he added.
