By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: A day after UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee was elected to the post of President in a bitterly contested but one-sided poll, the United Democratic Party (UDP) justified its decision to support the candidature of BJP-backed Purno A Sangma.
“We had to support him (Sangma) since he is a local man and we had to respect the sentiments of the tribal people especially the Garos,” Deputy Chief Minister and UDP leader Bindo M Lanong said on Monday.
The ties between the coalition UDP and the Congress had hit rough weather after the former rejected the requests of the State Congress to support the candidature of Mukherjee.
He said even Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had to support Mukherjee unwillingly.
In Meghalaya, Sangma managed to get 23. In comparison Mukherjee got 34 votes, while two votes were declared invalid.
Meanwhile, the UDP has also congratulated Mukherjee on election to the courty’s top post.
