She will be making her deShe will be making her de but in the Assembly elections from South Tura and believes that her return to electoral politics comes from conviction of bringing development to her constituency if voted as its representative. But Agatha K. Sangma has experienced the Lok Sabha polls as a two-time contestant. She was first elected to the 14th Lok Sabha in a by-election in May 2008, after her illustrious father, P.A Sangma resigned from the seat to join state politics. Thereafter, she was re elected to the 15th Lok Sabha. At the age of 29, she was the youngest among the council of ministers in the 15th Lok Sabha.The articulate former minister of state for rural development, who resigned from the post during a Cabinet reshuffle in October 2012, also sees the Assembly polls as a more challenging but exciting prospect.Saurav Bora caught up with the 37-year-old politician at her Dakopgre residence in Tura for an exclusive interview on Thursday evening.Here are the excerpts: ST: You have contested the Lok Sabha elections twice. How does it feel to contest the state Assembly elections for the first time? Agatha: Well it is different compared to Lok Sabha elections, because in the past I had contested MP elections twice…and I suppose MLA elections are more intricate and grassroots-oriented and therefore, for me this is a new experience because as a Member of Parliament I didn’t have to technically deal with grassroots politics. But today being a new candidate for an Assembly election and this constituency being quite new to me because I was declared the candidate only a couple of months back. So I’m starting from scratch. There are certain challenges… but at the same time the party has been extremely supportive and the party has unanimously accepted me as their candidate. So this has made things a lot easier for me and with the kind of support from not just the party but also from the South Tura people I feel this is going to be an exciting time for me. There will be a lot of hard work but I am really enjoying the campaign…
ST: This will be the first election since the demise of your father, PA Sangma, who was the mentor, guide and backbone of the party. How will you ensure victory in his absence?
Agatha: Well, nothing can be ensured or assured…but I truly believe that people remember my father and he has left behind a legacy and that is not just for his children in politics but the work that he has done is something that stays close to people’s hearts. And the values that I learnt from him are something that his physical absence does not take away from us. His work and love for the people carries on through NPP and we as his children are working hard to continue his legacy through our party by being principled and responsible public leaders.
ST: Will you be the chief minister if NPP gets majority seats from Garo Hills?
Agatha: See, we have not decided on it. As far as I am concerned I just want to be a good leader and being in a position does not matter. I feel that by winning the Assembly election and representing the people of South Tura I will be able to do a lot of things. So being the CM is certainly not in the agenda. I want to bring development in various areas (roads, water, education, et al) and it is with that conviction I am coming back to politics…
ST: How do you look at your chances in South Tura constituency with strong contenders such as sitting legislator John Leslie K. Sangma and Billy Kid Sangma (BJP ticket aspirant) in the fray?
Agatha: Practically speaking, elections are gambles and we cannot take it lightly. I have formidable candidates and I will never say anything against them …but it is up to the people of South Tura to decide who is more suitable to represent them…
ST: Do you think the Congress government failed to address basic issues such as water, road, health, education, etc in Garo Hills?
Agatha: I think I don’t even need to rate them…once the election results are declared we will see why the results are like that in Khasi Hills also, leaders have left the party and it must be for a valid reason…
ST: Is there an NPP wave in the run up to next month’s Assembly elections in Meghalaya and what is the reason for it?
Agatha: If you see in Khasi Hills especially there are so many Congress leaders joining NPP…so I would call that a wave in the sense that a wave is something that gets washed away and replaced by something fresh. So I would assume that we are going to see something different this time…and in my heart I really believe that people still believe in goodness. And that’s the reason I’m still in politics…I’m still as idealistic as I was when I was a younger person…life makes you jaded at times but in my core I truly believe that people can decide what is good or bad for them and in this election, people will vote for a party that will give them better life and make our state corruption free. We want a government that can perform and I believe that the people of Meghalaya will give that verdict.
ST: Currently, there are three members of your family in politics. Will you term this as dynastic politics?
Agatha: (Pauses) I sort of not sure whether I believe in this word…eventually we are living in a democratic nation where people choose their own leaders…I’m contesting, but it does not mean that I win the election on the mandate of my family…if I do win then people have accepted that I’m capable of leading them…I’m here to give my best and believe that I can bring a change for the better…and if people believe something similar then I wouldn’t term that as dynastic politics….just because I am a politician’s daughter or sister…shouldn’t take away my opportunity to be my best version…it takes away my freedom to be potentially best at…
ST: Lastly, you wore many hats – a politician, a lawyer, environmentalist and photographer…
Agatha: (Smiles) All of us have different passions… life gets boring if you just have one thing to do. You need to explore things that interest you…