SHILLONG: Congress legislator AL Hek has predicted that his party would not retain power in the 2018 Assembly elections and that a fractured mandate was the likely outcome of the polls.
“It is very sure that the Congress will not come to power in the next elections and (instead) there will be a fractured mandate as no party will get the majority. Before the elections, nobody can say we are going to form the government. A post poll alliance is the likely outcome,” the Congress legislator told reporters on Monday.
Asked how he foresees the performance of the National People’s Party (NPP), he said, “They will do better than the last elections.”
On the rumours doing the rounds that he might desert the Congress camp, he was quick to add that he would not deny the truth but could not sideline the decision of the leaders in his constituency. “I will not go ahead without consulting the leaders of my constituency. I will take the (collective) decision of all our leaders and thereafter decide which side to go for,” he said.
Speaking about his constituency, he emphasised on livelihood opportunities by creating employment for both educated and non-educated youths.
On his preparedness for the upcoming elections, Hek said he was not willing to take it easy. “Any given election cannot be taken for granted while hard work remains the backbone of electoral success,” he said.
