SHILLONG: The realization has finally dawned on regional parties in the Khasi Hills that, like in other parts of the country, the mood of the electorate in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, too, was anti-Congress but they could not capitalize on it because they could not manage to put up a consensus candidate.
The HSPDP and UDP have regretted that their inability to field a consensus candidate has allowed the Congress to retain the Shillong seat. “We have made efforts to put up a consensus. But it did not work out,” HSPDP vice president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said.
Basaiawmoit said that definitely, the mandate was against the Congress party. He regretted the poll outcome as the seat would definitely have gone to regional parties if they could manage to put up a consensus candidate.
“Though the whole country has rejected the Congress, it is really sad that we have elected a candidate from the Congress party. This clearly reflects that our electorate is not able to make a correct judgment,” Basaiawmoit said, leaving open the question if the fault was with the electorate or with the opposition parties themselves.
The HSPDP president argued that there was a need for the electorate to be well informed about the national politics. “The people need to show the same enthusiasm in Lok Sabha election like the Assembly and district council polls. The outcome would have been different if the voting percentage would have been on the higher side,” he said.
Basaiawmoit said that Rev PBM Basaiawmoit who was supported by HSPDP and KHNAM had a problem with the election symbol. Otherwise, he would have garnered more votes.
UDP working president Bindo Mathew Lanong, too, said that they were upset as the regional parties would have won the Shillong seat if they had put up a consensus candidate.
“From our side, we had tried our best to convince the HSPDP and KHNAM to have a consensus candidate. Now, it is a matter of great regret since our failure to be united has allowed the Congress to win the seat,” he said.