Shillong, May 19: UDP leader and member of district council, H.S. Shylla today called for a united fight among the regional political parties of the state in the upcoming Assembly election to be held next year, and informed that he was ready to support the HSPDP in Nongkrem constituency if the call for having an understanding among the regional parties materializes.  

Shylla who is the current MDC of the UDP in the Khasi Hill Autnomous District Council (KHADC), said that regional parties like the HSPDP, UDP and Khun Hynñiewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) need to work out a formula for the joint fight, so that they can form a government in 2018.

He also recalled how 40 years back, how the HSPDP and two other parities, the erstwhile All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and People’s Demand Implementation Convention (PDIC) had worked together and could form a ‘three-flag government” in 1978 led by the three parties.

According to Shylla at present, the UDP, HSPDP and KHNAM need to fight the election jointly so that the government led by regional parties could be formed by working together with the National People’s Party (NPP).

Shylla said that he was ready to sacrifice by not contesting the Assembly election as candidate of the UDP from Nongkrem constituency, but would like to support the present MLA and HSPDP president (Basaiaawmoit).

However if the three parties do not come to fight the election together, Shylla declared that he would join the fray as candidate of the UDP from Nongkrem. 

The UDP has eight legislators, and the HSPDP has four MLAs but KHNAM has no representative in the 60-member Assembly.

Earlier, the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP), one of the oldest regional political parties in Meghalaya had made an appeal to other regional parties to have an understanding by adopting a “goodwill gesture” as the HSPDP would like not to field candidates in constituencies where other regional parties are likely to emerge victorious.