Conrad Sangma's family holds grip on top five posts of NPP, ex-Manipur deputy CM replaced

The national committee of the NPP will be headed by the national president and would also include his brother James PK Sangma, sister Agatha K Sangma, wife Mehtab A Sangma, a party leader said.

Guwahati: The National People's Party (NPP), the first national party from the Northeast, reshuffled the party's national executive committee making the family members of CM of Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma hold more grip on the top five posts.

While Sangma has been retained as the national president, the NPP named the CM's brother, James PK Sangma as the new national working president. The NPP did not have the post of national working president in the executive committee formed in 2022.

Former Manipur deputy CM and senior NPP leader, Joykumar Singh, who was made the party's vice-president in 2022, however, did not find a place in the new committee. Joykumar had served as the deputy CM between 2017 and 2022. The new committee was finalised on April 17. Joykumar is now state president of NPP's Manipur unit.

James, who served as the party's treasurer earlier, has been replaced by Conrad's wife and an MLA, Mehtab A. Sangma. Mehtab was elected as an MLA from Gambegre Assembly constituency in Meghalaya in 2024.

Conrad's sister and former Lok Sabha member from Tura, Agatha K. Sangma has been named as one of the four national vice-presidents. Agatha lost in Tura in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

Saidul Khan, a relative of the family has been named as one of the four national secretaries. Khan was not part of the national executive committee of the party earlier. Ampareen Lyngdoh, a senior leader, who switched from Congress to NPP ahead of Assembly polls in 2023, is one of the national secretaries.

Although, the party leaders did not comment about the new committee, sources in Meghalaya said many NPP leaders were unhappy with the way Sangma family members were made to hold grip over top posts of the party.

NPP now leads the coalition government in Meghalaya and extended support to the BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh with five MLAs. The party was part of the BJP-led government in Manipur till it withdrew suport from N. Biren Singh government in November last year, following the Meitei-Kuki conflict.