‘NPP’s CM face a ploy to woo Khasi-Jaintia votes’

MAWKYRWAT: The aim of the National People’s Party (NPP) to project Prestone Tynsong as its chief ministerial candidate is to woo more voters from Khasi-Jaintia Hills, said HSPDP leader Shemborlang Rynjah on Tuesday.
Addressing a gathering here, Rynjah said, “The Congress in 2013 won 29 seats, 16 from Khasi-Jaintia Hills and 13 from Garo Hills. It could not get a Khasi chief minister even though it had a majority. Do you think NPP, which was founded by the Garos, will allow Prestone to become the chief minister?”
“If NPP says Prestone will be the chief ministerial candidate in 2018, it means that this party was not supported by the Garos and it will lose badly in Garo Hills. So the claim that Prestone will be the chief ministerial candidate of NPP is a ploy to woo more voters from Khasi-Jaintia Hills,” added Rynjah, who is the party’s joint secretary.
HSPDP’s district council member from Ranikor, Manstudy Nongrum, said the Congress of today “is different” “Even during election they change the president, working president and other office bearers at the state level. These differences started right from Delhi to the state and the Block Congress Committee as we saw the present situation within Mawkyrwat,” Nongrem said.
Nongrum said he joined HSPDP unconditionally and all he wanted was to work for the party and make sure that the candidate, Renik L Tongkhar, wins the election.
“Serving people does not mean that we can do only when we were elected as MLAs or MDCs, but we can serve and help others when we are just laymen also,” Nongrum said.
The HSPDP Mawkyrwat constituency, South West Khasi Hills, welcomed the ex-President of South West Khasi Hills District Congress Committee (SWKHDCC) and Ranikor MDC, Manstudy Nongrum and many of his supporters to the party.
Others who spoke during the meeting include the candidate, Tongkhar, President of the HSPDP Mawkyrwat Constituency, Nolip Lyngdoh, and other ex-Congress leaders who were welcome together with Nongrem.