SHILLONG: Rakkam A Sangma, the cabinet minister and NPP chief, said on Thursday that he is confident that his party will register a "record victory margin" in the bye-election for the Gambegre constituency. He believes that the entry of the Bharatiya Janata Party will be a significant setback to the Congress.
According to Sangma, "The NPP is increasingly winning public support". He says, it was the lack of knowledge among voters who, on their part did not know who was going to head the government in 2023, which made them vote for Congress. He stated that the Congress candidate was Saleng A Sangma who belongs to the opposition camp.
Dr. Mehtab Chandee A Sangma, wife of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, is the ruling NPP party candidate in this bye-election. The rest of the contenders will include Jingjang M Marak from the Indian National Congress, Sadhiarani Sangma from All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Bernard N Marak from BJP, and two independent candidates- Sengkrabirth M Marak and Jerry A Sangma.
The Rongara-Siju legislator stated that Gambegre has been given a great opportunity, and the people will have the chance to elect an MLA who will be very close to the government. He said he was completely confident that Madam Chandee would win the election.
He maintained that the people of Gambegre would support NPP to ensure total development within the constituency, basing his argument on them requiring government support and leadership by a leader who can effectively connect with the government. He said, "I believe that the people of Gambegre are mature enough to make the right decision.".
The NPP leader further said that the influence of the Congress party has decreased in Garo Hills and will not impact the bye-election in Gambegre. He described Saleng's earlier win as a miracle, adding that such an incident cannot be repeated. He said that the present scenario in Gambegre is not the same as that which led to the earlier wave of support for Congress.
The Congress party, Sangma added, would be severely handicapped by the BJP's decision to join the fray as the two parties had, during the last MP election, been allies. The BJP MDC from Tura, who is also in the fray, has admitted to this fact. Sangma added that both parties had voted together for the Tura MP election. He stressed this was not a mere thought of his, for it had been put directly when Bernard mentioned they were joint workers to see to it that Saleng went up and that he and several others had used his parlor for conferences. Of course, now, now that they were both for the same, against, they were rival political personalities.
He also quoted an investigation report, which stated that the Trinamool Congress's allegations against the NPP over the distribution of roofing sheets to the people of Gambegre villages are false and that claims of such nature are merely election gimmicks. Besides, he quoted a video where Tura MP Saleng A Sangma, in the quest to garner electoral support, openly declared in a speech that he would provide work orders from his MP scheme to every single voter of the Gambegre constituency.
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