District Council Elections
SHILLONG: Mawlai constituency is seeing one of the toughest contests in the upcoming district council election which has led to increasing tension among the candidates who are in the fray.
It has been observed that former Mawlai legislator Process T Sawkmie is at the receiving end with all the candidates making him a common target.
Even in the common platform organised by the Dorbar Shnong Mawlai Phudmuri at Mawlai Madan Heh on Thursday, majority of the candidates including their leaders went on hammering the former legislator.
Taking the lead in criticizing Sawkmie is another defeated legislator Founder Strong Cajee.
However, it will be interesting to see whether Sawkmie still enjoys the support and popularity among his supporters in the constituency especially after he had gone to contest the last Assembly election from Pynthorumkhrah.
After the being accused for being biased while conducting the common platform, the Dorbar Shnong of Mawlai Phudmuri has clarified that they were never biased against Sawkmie.
“We have never been biased with any of the candidate. We have tried to be balanced as far as possible,” Mawlai Phudmuri Rangbah Shnong Dolphin Lyngkot told newsmen on Friday.
After the clarification given by the Dorbar Shnong, the employees of the Rangers Security and Service Organisation (RSSO), a security agency owned by the Congress candidate from Mawlai constituency Teibor Pathaw came forward to speak in favour of their boss.
While criticizing the so called political opponents of Pathaw for making false accusations against him, the employees said that he (Pathaw) needs all the applause for providing employment to the local indigenous people.
“We are really hurt that there is an attempt to defame his image at the time of election. Even in the last Assembly election, false accusation was implicated against Pathaw,” one of the employees said while speaking to newsmen. The employees also claimed that there is no truth on the report that they do not get salaries for two to three months.
Finally, after being made a soft target by his opponent, KHNAM candidate and former legislator Mawlai Process T Sawkmie said that he does not harbour any ill feelings on the remarks made by this opponent against him.
“This kind of situation is common at the time of election. Every candidate wants to prove that he is the best. But I would leave to the wisdom of the people of the Mawlai since they know better,” Sawkmie said.
He said that no one can take away of the fact that he is a man who has grown and brought up in Mawlai.
Besides Sawkmie and Pathaw, the other candidates in Mawlai include Grevasis Kharmujai (UDp) and Panbor Ryntathiang (HSPDP).