Shillong, Feb 23: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday expressed confidence that the National People’s Party (NPP) will return to power with ‘absolute majority’ in 2023.

“I am sure that the NPP will get absolute majority in the coming Assembly elections,” Sangma said while speaking in Khasi at a meeting to welcome the joining of two sitting MDCs and a former MDC to the party.KHADC Executive Member (EM) and Nongshken MDC Grace Mary Kharpuri and former Congress leader and Malki-Laitumkhrah MDC Fantin Joseph and former MDC WL Mynsong were also felicitated during the meeting.

Welcoming all of them, the NPP national president said that the NPP is growing today with God’s blessing and the party is getting positive response in states like Manipur.

Proud to welcome Hon’ble MDCs, Grace M Kharpuri & Joseph F Lakadong, Ex-MDC, W L Mynsong and other new members to the NPP family. Our strong purpose has inspired this growing belief in NPP. pic.twitter.com/HbX3yun7u1

— Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) February 23, 2022

“I don’t want to be too optimistic here and tell you any big numbers but you will see when the results come out. We have just four MLAs right now but I can assure you that we will cross the double digits and how high the double digit will go only time will tell but I am optimistic and at the same time a realistic person but I know for sure we are going to cross the double digit number because it is huge gain for us, it is hundred percent growth,” he said.

Stating that the NPP-led MDA government had faced tough situations in the past four years, Sangma however said, “But we kept working, we didn’t give up (because) our principle is not to give up but to keep trying.”

He said many people had discouraged the party not to touch the boundary issue as it will be politically disastrous for it.

“Nobody has touched it for 50 years, why do you want to touch it. And Deputy Chief Minister, myself and the cabinet and all the leaders in the party we said isn’t that what the people have elected us to do. Isn’t that the expectation of the people, isn’t that our responsibility. And if we were to think only politics and political situations aren’t we failing in our duty to serve our people and our state. Our principle that we want to work in an organization as well as in the government is that we are here to serve the people. Yes it may be tough but we will do what we feel is correct and we will do what we feel is our responsibility as leaders as the people of the state have bestowed upon us this responsibility,” he added.

The chief minister further assured the people of the state that the NPP-led government will continue to try its best.

“Let me tell you please remember we may fail in some of those trials, we may not be able to resolve some of the issues and we may find more challenges that may come up but at least we tried, at least our conscience will be clear that we did not run away from our responsibility,” he asserted.

Emphasizing on the importance of the three factors to run an organization, Sangma said, “ I strongly feel we as a party have tried to focus on all these three important things to ensure that the right ideology, to ensure that a team work and leadership is there, and to ensure that the principles that make the organization working environment should also be the principles that are very firm.”

“You cannot keep changing your principles based on the situation. Principle means principle. We decide on certain principles and that is the principle that drives the organization,” he stated.