The novel coronavirus has made the National People’s Party (NPP) its first political victim in the northeast.
Miffed by the NPP’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown, eight leaders in Meghalaya quit the party on Saturday.
They include former MLA Justine Dkhar and Violet Lyngdoh, Joinriwell Pyrtuh and Thomas Nongtdu — all former members of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council.
“The party is not well-organised, as such there is no platform to listen to public grievances,” the eight wrote in their resignation letter to NPP State president Wanwei Roy Kharlukhi.
They also expressed anguish that the party was “inviting the virus through truck drivers and helpers” by letting them in from red zone areas outside Meghalaya when the “people are fighting hard against the spreading of the pandemic”.
Dr. Kharlukhi could not be contacted. A senior NPP leader said he was not sure whether or not the resignation of the eight leaders has been accepted.
With 21 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly, the NPP heads the coalition government in Meghalaya with regional parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
