Meghalaya’s NPP, led by Conrad Sangma, to contest Karnataka polls, field candidates in 10-15 segments

The National People’s Party (NPP) from the faraway Meghalaya has decided to contest the upcoming Karnataka election this time.

The NPP joins the list of smaller outfits like Telangana-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), UP-based Bahujan Samaj Party and others that are keen to contest the polls while the state-based parties like Prajaakeeya formed by the actor Upendra and former BJP minister G Janardhan Reddy’s Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha will also be in the fray.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is likely to contest in all 224 constituencies in the state whereas the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the banned PFI’s political arm, has already announced that it wants to contest 100 seats.

Also Read | Congress keeping close watch on allocation of tenders by Karnataka govt: DK Shivakumar

AIMIM has announced three candidates and more names are likely to be released soon.

NPP Karnataka general secretary Prabhu Bosco told DH that the party is planning to contest in 10-15 seats, mostly in Bengaluru. “We are in the process of finalising our candidates and manifesto. We are planning to field important personalities at the local level to win a decent number of votes,” he said.

According to political experts, except for SDPI and AAP, none can be considered as a serious player. All these parties are, at best, playing the role of a sidekick on the larger electoral canvas, which would help BJP in one way or another, they say.

Political analyst Chambi Puranik told DH that AAP has the edge over all other smaller parties in the state as this party has uniquely captured the people’s imaginations in many ways. “It is perhaps the first ideology-less party in the country that speaks more about ‘clean administration’ than other issues, which is its USP. Hence, it will have a considerable impact, but may not win seats to justify its perceptible visible popularity,” he said, adding that AAP lacked mass leaders.

According to political scientist Harish Ramaswamy, The SDPI’s “narrow-minded” political ideology would fetch more dividends than any other smaller outfits. “With Congress failing to protect the interests of minorities, SDPI has emerged stronger. A section of Muslims do vote for this party. But, all these smaller outfits together will surely help BJP in many ways by making a dent into Congress’ vote share,” he said.