SHILLONG: MPCC president DD Lapang on Friday said that the party has not projected the name of Mylliem legislator Ronnie V Lyngdoh as a prospective aspirant for the Congress ticket for the Lok Sabha elections from Shillong Parliamentary seat.
“I want to make it clear that the MPCC has not projected anyone. He (Ronnie) has decided to contest the Lok Sabha on his own. The Mylliem legislator might have held discussions with some leaders in the party,” Lapang said while speaking to newsmen here.
He said that the MPCC has no objection to any candidate who wishes to apply for the party ticket since the AICC is yet to fix the date for scrutiny of the candidates.
“Initially we were asked by the AICC to submit the details of all the ticket applicants quickly. But later we were informed that it would take some time for the party high command to decide on the party candidates for the Lok Sabha,” the MPCC president said, adding that the MPCC took advantage of the situation to give a chance to people to come forward and apply for the party ticket.
“We are not going to pull out someone from the race. The MPCC would not forward the necessary papers and documents of all the ticket aspirants to the AICC,” Lapang said.
“After examining the papers of the candidates, the AICC would determine the winnability factor and then award the party ticket to the most deserving candidate,” he added.
When asked if Lyngdoh has applied for the party ticket, Lapang clarified that the Mylliem legislator had only collected the application form.
“He (Ronnie) would have to submit the application form before February 3. The MPCC would meet on the same day to scrutinize the papers of all the ticket applicants,” the MPCC president said, while stating that people could still apply for the party ticket.
Lapang also dismissed speculations that the party has decided to allow more applicants to seek the party ticket since the three contenders who are already in the race have less chances of winning the election.
Besides sitting Lok Sabha member Vincent H Pala, the other two contenders include State Planning Co-Chairman John Kharshiing and former Assembly Speaker Charles Pyngrope.
On a recent statement by Pala that he would not contest if the party high command does not give him the ticket, Lapang said that as a disciplined party man, he (Pala) is expected to respect the decision of the party. “But if he is not satisfied with the decision of the party then he is free to contest from anywhere and from any party,” the MPCC president said.
When asked to assess the performance of the sitting MP, Lapang said, “He (Pala) is bound to suffer criticism because he has served as an MP for five years. But we would have to wait and see whether these criticisms would eliminate him from the race. Even the Chief Minister is being judged,” Lapang said.
He also said that the MPCC has not conducted any exercise to judge Pala’s performance.
“We have not been assigned by the AICC to carry out any such exercise on the performance of the sitting MP,” the MPCC chief said.