Congress candidate Pala wins from Shillong for third consecutive term

SHILLONG: Congress candidate, Vincent Pala who has won Lok Sabha election from Shillong constituency for the third consecutive term, has said that he did not fight Jemino Mawthoh as common candidate of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) but as the candidate of United Democratic Party (UDP).

Speaking to newsmen after winning the election, Pala said, “The margin of his win is big this time and all the party workers and the state party president have done an excellent job.”

He said that the connectivity and unemployment would be in focus for him as he has committed in the poll manifesto.

When asked about the poor performance of the Congress at the national level, he said, “People of India usually gives two terms to every government and now people have given the second term to Narendra Modi and Congress will come back to power in next term.”

Reiterating that he did not fight Jemino Mawthoh as common candidate but as a UDP candidate, he said that it was easy to unite leaders but not to voters, adding he has managed to win comfortably even in constituencies which is represented by UDP MLAs and Minister.

When asked about Tura where Congress could not win despite fielding veteran Mukul Sangma, he admitted that something went wrong but he also lauded Mukul Sangma for contesting the election in such a short time and still managing to get quite a number of votes

He also said that the vote share of Congress has increased in North Eastern states while admitting that workers of other political parties have helped him win the elections from Shillong seat