Sangma decides to float new political party

Shillong, Jul 30: After his unsuccessful bid to become the President of India, former Lok Sabha Speaker and Nationalist Congress

(NCP) decided to float a new political party in August, said sources on Monday. The new party will be named the National Indigenous People's Party of India (NIPPI), a confidant told on the condition of anonymity. Sangma had lost to

in the recently held presidential election by a huge margin.

He even quit his party, the NCP, which he had founded along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar after breaking away from the Congress opposing Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, in 1999. This he did after the party, which is an ally in the United Progressive Alliance, refused to back him. Sangma also gave up his membership in the Meghalaya assembly.

Sangma's opponent Pranab Mukherjee was the UPA's candidate and the former was backed by the BJP and some other parties. Even in Karnataka, which is led by a BJP government, cross-voting during the presidential poll saw Sangma garnering much less vote than expected.

Sources said Sangma's new party will mostly feature members from the NCP who had backed his presidential candidature. Thirteen NCP MLAs from Meghalaya voted for Sangma in the presidential election, violating the party's stand to back Pranab.

The NIPPI would depend on the support of millions of indigenous people across the region ahead of the assembly elections in three northeastern states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura early next year, sources said.

Sangma's son and Opposition leader of Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma, however, said that the state NCP unit did not discuss the formation of a new party.

OneIndia News

(With Agency inputs)