From CK Nayak
Capt Sangma’s kin Cong Tura candidate
New Delhi: High drama marked the meeting of the Central Election Committee of Congress in Delhi on Saturday evening over the selection of the party nominee for Tura Lok Sabha seat, with CEC member DD Lapang declaring Daryl William Cheran Momin as the candidate while in the AICC notification the name of Zenith Sangma appeared.
Lapang said late in the evening that the appearance of Zenith Sangma’s name in the official list was a “typing mistake.”
Both the contenders for the ticket have excellent backgrounds, Daryl being the grandson of first Meghalaya Chief Minister Captain Williamson Sangma and Zenith is the brother of Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma.
In the meeting Daryl’s name was cleared since he had the backing of Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma with MPCC President D D Lapang lending him support, sources said. Chairman of the Screening Committee V Narayanswamy and AICC General Secretary in charge of the state Luinzho Falerio also supported him.
Because of continued infighting, the name of the candidate for the Shillong LS seat could not be finalized in the meeting. The CEC members finally decided to let Congress president Sonia Gandhi take a call.
A group of five independent MLAs from Khasi – Jaintia Hills, led by Forest Minister Prestone Tynsong, are camping in Delhi opposing the candidature of sitting MP Vincent H Pala.
They argued that because of Pala’s intervention several official Congress candidates had lost in the last Assembly polls in Khasi-Jaintia Hills. Pala has already denied this, but it is clear that the former Union Minister does not have the support of the Meghalaya Chief Minister.
At the CEC meeting the alternative to Pala was John Kharshiing, not Rony Lyngdoh, who was projected earlier. This also created much confusion since Rony’s name had been sent by the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee as a late decision.
IANS adds: Congress president Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli) and vice president Rahul Gandhi (Amethi) figure in the first list of party candidates for the Lok Sabha elections released here on Saturday.
Apart from the two Gandhis, the list has 192 more names including Unique Identification Authority of India chairman and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who has been fielded from Bangalore South, and cricketer Mohammad Kaif has been fielded from Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh.
