SHILLONG: Congress candidate from East Shillong Ampareen Lyngdoh said on election day she was confident that the people of her constituency would reward her for all the hard work.
The media caught up with the legislator while she was being greeted by her well-wishers after the polls at Don Bosco square.
Commenting on the BJP factor in the Assembly polls, she said it was seen as a party that upsets elections and tries to play with numbers.
“In most of the booths that I visited, the BJP and UDP were sitting together. So I don’t think there is any big challenge that they can pose,” Lyngdoh said.
“I am lucky that my opponents were not that significant. We were fortunate to have opponents who were not up to the mark to pose any kind of threat,” she added.
However, the Congress leader added that “in the worst case scenario”, she would not mind sitting in the opposition “as one serves in the business of politics, one has to go through all phases”.
As for voter turnout, she said her constituency witnessed significantly higher turnout compared to the last election in 2013, adding that the poll percentage would definitely increase.
However, she pointed out that a huge number of non-tribals who have retired from government service and students who study outside could not vote this time.
Speaking about the possible margin of victory, she expressed confidence that the Congress would edge past its nearest rival by well over 2000 votes.
Lyngdoh expressed enthusiasm about the growing support for the Congress in the state, saying that the pre-poll phenomenon of legislators switching parties had left the people utterly confused.
“There has been a huge swing in the last 10 days during which period the voters had actually started to make up their minds as to which candidate to vote for. It is a very interesting reflection of the people’s confusion because the change in the political sympathies of their leaders had left them befuddled,” she said.
Sharing an anecdote of her interaction with voters in her constituency, Lyngdoh said she had been bluntly told by many of her constituents, ‘Do not change sides’, instead of the usual greetings and best wishes that she usually receives.
“People are emboldened to comment on this exodus of leaders from one party to the other. The disgust amongst voters, at least in the urban areas, is palpable,” she said.
Dwelling on the sudden, and often violent, reactions that accompany the announcement of poll results, the sitting legislator appealed to all to maintain calm and composure.
