By Our Reporter
Shillong: “UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee will garner more votes in the Northeastern states than his rival NDA-backed candidate PA Sangma,” a confident Dr Mukul Sangma on Thursday after casting his vote for the presidential election.
“Voting trend in the Northeast will be on expected lines and I am confident that we will lead in Meghalaya and other states of the region,” Dr Sangma said.
“There will be no setback,” the Chief Minister said when asked if he expected any cross-voting from the State Congress legislators.
Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and NCP legislator, Conrad K Sangma, said, “We are proud of the fact that PA Sangma is contesting in this election. It is a proud moment I think for every citizen of the State and the region as a whole and in fact for all the tribals in the country. Our prayers and wishes are with him and we hope that he gets through.”
Asked if he expected legislators from other parties to cut across party lines and cast their ballot in Sangma’s favour, Conrad said, “What will happen is difficult to say. But we hope that there will be some cross voting.”
Meanwhile, in an unprecedented turn of events, a total number of 37 votes were cast within the first 40 minutes after voting was opened.
Official sources informed that Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma was the first person to cast his vote while UDP legislator Nimarson Momin was the last one.
The enthusiasm surrounding the Presidential election was evident, as the Chief Minister and the Assembly Speaker Charles Pyngrope walked all the way from the Shillong Club to the MLA Hostel to cast their votes.
“Normally, voting for the Presidential election would be very slow. But this time it was brisk, peaceful and orderly,” Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Prashant Naik told reporters after voting closed on Thursday evening.
He informed that 58 legislators cast their votes at the MLA Hostel in Shillong while lone woman legislator Ampareen Lyngdoh cast her vote in New Delhi. One seat became vacant after Purno Sangma quit his membership from the Assembly after resigning from the primary membership of the NCP.
“The ballot box would be kept in Shillong tonight. It would be dispatched to New Delhi tomorrow,” Naik said while also informing that the counting of the votes will take place on Sunday. (With inputs from UNI)
