SHILLONG: Both the ruling and Opposition parties on Thursday filed their nominations for the post of Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. The election to the post will be held next Monday.
State Congress spokesperson Zenith Sangma along with the party’s candidate Winnerson D Sangma, Nongthymmai MLA Charles Pyngrope and Mawlai MLA PT Sawkmie met the Assembly commissioner and secretary Andrew Simons to submit the nomination paper.
The Congress’s decision to nominate Winnerson was taken during a meeting convened at the residence of former chief minister Mukul Sangma on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media, Zenith said Winnerson’s name was proposed by him and PT Sawkmie.
Stating that the party is always positive before any election, Sangma said only time will tell if the Congress nominee would get the support of the majority of members of the house.
The NPP-led dispensation has the support of 34 MLAs.
Sangma, on the other hand, alleged that the BJP-NPP nexus has been totally exposed during the formation of the new government in Meghalaya.
Asked what went wrong with the Congress in the recently concluded polls, Sangma replied that the one big factor that turned the tide in the BJP and NPP’s favour was the money power of the BJP, adding that the Congress is meticulously analysing the other factors that led to its downfall thereby paving the way for a NPP-led government in the state.
“The people of Meghalaya did not give a mandate to the BJP but the saffron party celebrated as if they had the mandate to rule the state. This is evidence enough of the fact that there exists a nexus between the BJP and NPP,” Sangma told reporters.
Meanwhile, the ruling NPP submitted the name of former chief minister Donkupar Roy as its nominee for the Speaker of the Assembly.
Roy’s name was proposed by NPP MLA James Sangma among others. That Roy would be nominated as the MDA coalition’s candidate for the post of Speaker was an agreement arrived at by the coalition partners prior to the formation of the new government.
