National People's Party (India)

In January 2013, P. A. Sangma launched the party on the national level. He announced that his party would be in alliance with the National Democratic Alliance led by Bharatiya Janta Party. Sangma also reiterated that though the membership of the party is open to all, it shall be a tribalcentric party.[2]

Sangma who has been a nine-time Member of Parliament, had announced to form a new political party soon after his expulsion from the Nationalist Congress Party in July 2012, when he refused to accept party decision to quit the 2012 Indian presidential election. NPP contested the assembly election of Rajasthan in December 2013, under the leadership of Kirodi Lal Meena, a former BJP member and MP (Independent from Dausa) at the time of election and won four seats.[3]

Currently it is a part of North-East Regional Political Front consisting of political parties of the northeast which has supported the National Democratic Alliance.

In 2015, in a rare move election commission has suspended NPP for its failure to provide party's expenditure during Lok Sabha Elections held in 2014. NPP became first party to get suspended by EC.[4]

In September 2015, the leaders of six parties—Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Jan Adhikar Party, Samras Samaj Party, National People's Party and Samajwadi Janata Party announced the formation of a third front known as the Socialist Secular Morcha.[5][6][7] National People's Party is fighting on 3 seats as part of Socialist Secular Morcha in 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election.[5]

In May 2016, after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance formed its first government in Assam, and formed a new alliance called the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) with Himanta Biswa Sarma as its convener. The Chief Ministers of the north eastern states of Sikkim, Assam and Nagaland too belong to this alliance. Thus, the National People's Party joined the BJP-led NEDA.[8]

The NPP contested 9 candidates in the 2017 Manipur Legislative Assembly election and won 4 seats.

In March 2018, The NPP came second behind Indian National Congress by winning 19 seats in the 2018 Meghalaya legislative assembly election.[9]Conrad Sangma staked claim to form government with a letter of support from the 34 MLA, that included 19 from NPP, 6 from United Democratic Party, 4 from People's Democratic Front, two each from Hill State People's Democratic Party and Bharatiya Janata Party, and an independent.[10][11]

Its election symbol is a book.[12] The significance for the same is that the party believes that only literacy and education can empower the weaker sections.[2]

The party won a seat in 2014 Loksabha elections from Tura and Sangma became MP. After the death of P. A. Sangama, from this seat his son Conrad Sangma won by-election held in May 2016. The party had proposed to contest election and expand its base in tribal constituencies of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, north West Bengal and the Northeast India.[2]

In March 2018, the party won 19 out of 60 assembly seats in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election 2018 and formed government in the state in coalition with BJP and other parties and party president Conrad Sangma sworn in as Chief Minister of the state. In May 2018, the party won Williamnagar Assembly seat in a by-election making its tally to 20 out of 60 assembly seats in Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.[13][14]