SHILLONG, AUG 27: National People’s Party (NPP) national president and chief minister of Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma today won the bye-election to the South Tura Assembly seat by a huge margin of over 8,000 votes.
Son of NPP founder late Purno A Sangma, Conrad, also the current Member of Parliament from Tura, defeated his closest rival from the opposition Congress candidate Charlotte W Momin by 8,421 votes. He secured 13,656 votes while Momin got only 5235.
The bye-election held on August 23 was necessitated following the resignation of his younger sister and former MP Agatha K Sangma to pave way for him to get elected to the state’s Assembly.
With today’s victory, the ruling NPP again has equal its strength with the opposition Congress with 20-20 in the 60-member House.
On the other hand, former South Tura MLA John Leslee who was defeated by Agatha in the February 27-Assembly polls held this year, could manage to clinch on the third place by securing only 2211 votes while Chris Kabul A Sangma with 897 votes.
The NPP is leading the six-party Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) which comprises of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Hill State People Democratic Party (HSPDP), People’s Democratic Front (PDF), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Speaking to reporters soon after the result was declared, chief minister reassured to take the state forward as the commitment of the MDA-led state government now is even stronger.
“…we are committed to the people of the state and I would reassure the people that after this particular victory that our commitment is even stronger now and we will do what it takes and we will work with all our commitment to take the state forward,” he said.
Thanking the people of South Tura for their support, Conrad said, “It has been a good election. People of Tura have really put their faith and trust it’s not about me alone but it’s about the government. We will do our best to ensure that we take the state forward.”
Also lauding his younger sister for sacrificing the seat for him, the chief minister also extended his gratefulness to all the MDA partners for working really hard to ensure his victory.
Asked, Conrad while stating it is going to be a two different responsibility said, “In one way as chief minister I have to ensure the policies are correct and will take the state forward but Tura town as I have mentioned requires a lot of infrastructure development.”
“I think core infrastructure is going to be main agenda whether it is road construction, drinking water or the garbage disposal management system or streetlights and many other things but we will try to focus on making Tura a proper town with basic amenities,” he added.
Meanwhile, the chief minister also took the opportunity of appealing to all the political parties including the opposition Congress to work together with the state government in the interest of the people and the state.
“I would like to appeal to all political parties now that elections are over we should all work together and this is democracy and therefore all people and individuals matter. Therefore I want to call on them all let us work together and take the state forward,” he stated.
By Our Reporter
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