TURA: With the culmination of the voting process for the Parliamentary elections to the Tura Seat, predictions have started pouring in where the verdict is in favour of both candidates – veteran politician and former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma representing the NPP and a fresh entrant and the grandson of Lt. Captain WA Sangma, the first Chief Minister of Meghalaya from the Congress.
While the supporters of both the candidates have expressed confidence of securing the maximum number of votes, many had earlier expressed uncertainty in choosing their candidates even before the run up to the elections which is where the newly introduced option of ‘None of the Above (NOTA)’ comes in.
With regards to experience in the field of politics many feel that veteran politician PA Sangma is more capable of delivering the goods than his young opponent from the Congress, Daryl William Momin who was yet to get the feel of it. There are some who feel that the young Congress candidate may even get caught up in the job at hand to find time to look into the problems being faced in the Garo Hills region.
However, the frequent switching of allegiance by PA Sangma from one party to another in addition to the old age factor seem to be a point against the veteran NPP leader’s cause with many losing faith in the once charismatic politician.
If one goes by what is being heard on the streets of Tura town it doesn’t take much to come to the conclusion that many would have opted for the NOTA button this time round.
“The introduction of the NOTA option has come at a convenient time. I will make use of it as I cannot choose between the two,” an employee in the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department said.
Another, a businessman of the town was of the view that the young Congress candidate was still too inexperienced to take on the huge responsibility of an MP. However, he was also not in favour of voting for the veteran NPP leader and said that he would opt for the NOTA option.
With the decision being the same with many others, May 16 being the day of counting will clear the air of doubt on whether the introduction of NOTA has made any difference.
