TURA, APR 20: The five Garo hills districts will see intense electioneering for the Tura Lok Sabha seat as the Congress and the NPP will slug it out to clinch the seat in the bye-polls that is slated to be held on May 16.
The seat fell vacant after the sitting Tura Lok Sabha MP Purno Agitok Sangma demise on March 4.
National People’s Party (NPP) is meeting on April 22 at Tura to finalise the name of the candidate. Speaking to this website NPP national president Conrad Kongkal Sangma said, “We have shortlisted few names but will be formally sitting for a discussion with party members to finalise. We may announce the name on April 22 or at a later date”.
It looks evident that either Conrad or Agatha Sangma may be shortlisted by the party to contest the election. When Conrad asked said, “Please wait till we formally announce the names”.
Agatha had contested the Tura Lok Sabha by-poll in 2008 and general elections in 2009. In her stint as Tura MP she had become one of India’s youngest union minister in the UPA-II government. She had contested both the elections as a candidate of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), when her father had decided to quit national politics to join state politics.
In 2014 general election, Purno decided to re-contest Tura Lok Sabha and defeated young Congress candidate Daryl William Momin. Purno had wished to raise issue of Garoland in the parliament and had said that issue of militancy needs to be resolved during his election campaign.
Daryl Momin, when asked, if he is likely to apply for the Congress ticket to contest the by-poll, said, “It is upto the party to decide”.
Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma, who was in Garo hills for the past three days, left for Shillong today.
When asked whether Congress party is prepared to slug out against NPP as the latter may ride home on sympathy wave, he said, “We will be fighting on issues and promises based on the manifesto of the Congress party. We have fulfilled the promises made to the people. We have live up to our commitments and the visible development is evident. People of Garo hills have their wisdom to judge the performance of the government”.
The chief minister also said that Congress is positive about the youths and the new generation, who are conscious on issues like climate change and sustainable livelihood.
On early election dates, the chief minister said, “People of Garo hills are adapt to early polls. In past also there have been early elections. The people of Garo hills are alert and vigilant and will come out to vote as a call of duty”.
When asked that the name of his legislator wife Dikkanchi D. Shira and sports and youth affairs minister Zenith Sangma (Mukul’s younger brother) is doing the rounds as probable Congress candidate, Mukul said, “I am on my way to Shillong. We will be sitting soon to discuss and finalise the name”.
United Democratic Party (UDP) has decided to support NPP candidate, while BJP is yet to make any decision, whether to contest the by-poll. However, there are indication that a delegation has left for New Delhi to urge the central leadership to clear deck for the election.-From Our Correspondent
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