Shillong: After failing to secure more seats or make an improvement in the recently held Meghalaya general elections, the Meghalaya unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday held a meeting to introspect and analyse the factors that led to such a poor poll performance.
While the BJP, for the first time, contested on all 60 seats in Meghalaya, it could register win in just three of the 59 seats that went to polls.
Continuing to stay optimist, National general secretary Rituraj Sinha said that like in every election, their job was to put their best foot forward and give people an alternative. “In a healthy democracy, after campaigning ends and when results are out, we accept the mandate of the people and BJP has done exactly that,” Sinha said.
Asked if people in Meghalaya were still shunning the BJP, Sinha said the support that the party received had only grown in comparison to 2018.
“We have seen a large number of people join our party and were able to field candidates in all 60 Assembly seats. The crowd turning up for BJP events have been recorded, so our base has grown.”
Why and what more can be done to further strengthen the party was a matter of introspection and that goes on always, said Sinha.
Concerning the corruption remarks, Sinha said that elections were now over and it was now time to ensure the best possible stable government for the state of Meghalaya. He added that Meghalaya had a lot of developmental challenges, the state’s finance was a challenge and that it was now for the Central and State governments to come together to find a solution for the people of Meghalaya.
“Our priority is to work for the benefit and development of the people and that should be the priority of all constructive parties in Meghalaya politics,” said Sinha.
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He also added that corruption was a disease in democracy and it was the greatest hindrance to development of the state and welfare of the people. Sinha reiterated that BJP was anti-corruption, anti-dynasty and against anyone who is anti-India.
Meanwhile, BJP state president Ernest Mawrie said that they have been able to analyse the anti-Christian tag, which has been dominant, especially during the time of elections in Meghalaya. Mawrie also counted COVID-related restrictions as a setback that kept the party workers from connecting with the people at the grassroot level. Without naming a party, Mawrie also said that credit of Central schemes was taken by ‘another party’.
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