SHILLONG, JULY 27: The Election Commission of India has decided to hold simultaneous bye-elections to the two vacant Assembly seats – Ranikor and South-Tura – on August 23, following the hue and cry aired by the political parties in the state.
The bye-election to the Ranikor constituency in South West Khasi Hills District was notified by the Election Commission on Friday, after five days of announcing the by poll for South Tura constituency in West Garo Hills District.
Political parties which include the United Democratic Party (UDP), the main ally of the ruling NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, and the opposition Congress have petitioned to EC demanding that elections to the two seats should be held simultaneously.
According to them, there is no justification to hold the bye-elections to the two seats – Ranikor and South-Tura – on separate polling dates.
The two seats fell vacant after Ranikor MLA Martin M Danggo and South-Tura MLA Agatha K Sangma resigned as members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on June 21 and July 2 respectively.
“The Election Commission has also announced that the bye-election for the Ranikor seat will be held on August 23,” State’s chief electoral officer Frederick R Kharkongor said today.
The notification for the Ranikor bye-election will be issued on July 30 while the last date of filing of nominations will be on August 6 and the next day will be the scrutiny of nomination papers, the CEO said.
The last date of withdrawal of nominations will be on August 9 and the bye-election will be held on August 23, he said, adding that the results will be declared on August 27.
The election commission also said that the model code of conduct shall come into force with immediate effect in the district in which the whole or any part of the Assembly constituency going for bye-election.
It will also be applicable to all candidates, political parties and the state government concerned.
The Ranikor constituency has 26 polling stations with a total of 29,685 eligible voters including 15183 males and 14487 females. Out of these, the largest polling station is Rangthong with 817 while smallest is Nongbahjynrin-Mawthabah with only 12 voters, the CEO said.
Danggo’s decision to resign as MLA after the state government decided to upgrade the Ranikor Administrative Unit into a full-fledged civil sub-division, which was also inaugurated on July 10.
He was elected for the fifth consecutive time in the February 27 Assembly polls held earlier this year after he defeated his closest rival UDP candidate Pius Marwein by a margin of 2002 votes.
Recently, Danggo has also formally joined the ruling National People’s Party, from where he is all set to seek re-election to retain the seat.
On the other hand, South Tura constituency has a total of 30,231 voters including 14,846 males and 15,351 females, 33 service voters and one NRI in 36 polling stations. While the largest polling station is Matchakolgre with 1337 voters, the smallest is Leper Colony with 151 voters.
It was last represented by independent legislator John Leslee Sangma before Agatha wrested the seat defeating her nearest rival, former minister Billy Kid Sangma of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) from amongst nine candidates.
Meanwhile, Agatha’s decision to quit as MLA was to pave way for her brother, who is the National People’s Party (NPP) national president and chief minister Conrad K Sangma to contest from the seat.
Conrad has been appealing to all the coalition partners in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government to support him as a consensus candidate for the upcoming bye-election to the South Tura seat.
The NPP is leading the six-party MDA which include the United Democratic Party (UDP), People’s Democratic Front (PDF), Hill State People Democratic Party (HSPDP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and three independents.
Interestingly, this time, Billy Kid has announced his support to Conrad citing the fact that the BJP is part of the present ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coalition government.
On the other hand, the previous MLA, John Leslee Sangma has announced that he shall make his intent clear after due consultation with his supporters. The Congress is yet to announce its candidate.
By Our Reporter
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