Salseng to contest polls, says desertions to affect party

SHILLONG: Unlike Congress leaders, DD Lapang, RC Laloo and Roshan Warjri, senior party leader Salseng C Marak will go ahead with his decision to contest the Assembly polls, also reasoning that leaders leaving the party ahead of the polls would create a negative impact.
“There is pressure from the people of my constituency and leaders to contest the polls,” Marak said on Friday.
The former chief minister said he had initially planned to retire from electoral politics much before the decisions of Lapang and others. But he was compelled to contest as his supporters wanted him to be in the fray.
He said the decision of Lapang and others to opt out of the electoral race should have been done much earlier and not when the elections are round the corner.
According to the veteran Congress leader, other leaders including Prestone Tynsong leaving the party would create some impact especially in the constituencies of the rebel Congress legislators.