TURA/ GUWAHATI: The most speculated slugfest between the Congress and NPP in Ampati on May 28 has turned into a triangular contest with independent candidate Subhankar Koch filing his nomination on Thursday.
Koch was the only candidate to file papers on the final day.
Now, the spotlight will be on the two main contenders – Miani D Shira of the Congress and Clement Momin of NPP.
Former chief minister Mukul Sangma, who had also won from Songsak, had vacated Ampati a few days after the poll results were announced, making way for his 27-year-old daughter to contest the by-election on a Congress ticket.
While the Congress is hoping to halt the NPP wave in Garo Hills, the latter is optimistic it can turn the tables on its bitter political rival in a constituency long known as a Congress bastion.
There is disappointment for the supporters of former BJP candidate Bakul Hajong after BJP decided against fielding a candidate and has lent its support to the common Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) candidate Clement Momin.
Hajong, who had earlier asserted that he would contest as independent if the party denied ticket, confirmed on Thursday that he would not contest the Ampati by-poll even as an Independent, saying he respected the high command’s decision.
“I was informed by state BJP president Shibun Lyngdoh on Wednesday evening of the high command’s decision not to field any candidate from the party as the MDA, which BJP is a part of, had opted for a consensus candidate. I also dropped the idea of contesting as Independent in the event of missing out on a party ticket, as I had to respect the decision of the high command as a matter of discipline. Besides, I have been a BJP member for only eight months now,” a candid Hajong told The Shillong Times on Thursday.
A retired sericulture director, Hajong had been in Shillong for the past three days, attending meetings in the state party office during a period of “suspense” about his candidature.
Asked about the mood among his supporters back home, Hajong, who was on his way back to Tura from the state capital on Thursday morning, said they would have mixed feelings now.
“They wanted me to contest again. I also did not want to disappoint them and so was anxiously waiting for a final decision,” he added.
In a way, it was time for BJP to return the “favour” as NPP did not field any candidate from the party for Ampati in the February 27 election. BJP had then fielded Hajong who eventually lost to Mukul.
Predicting a rerun of Williamnagar in Ampati, Hajong said, “NPP will win for sure as my supporters will also vote for the candidate. In the February election, I bagged about 5,500 votes from Hajong and Koch communities, 3,500 from Garo community and the rest from others, including voters from the Muslim community. All these voters will now vote for NPP.”
On Miani’s candidature, he said it was unfortunate that the former chief minister had engaged in dynastic politics yet again. “She is of my daughter’s age and that it was not the right time for her to be in politics. Also, because there is a lot of work to be done in Ampati, an experienced MLA is needed,” Hajong said.
Besides supporting the NPP candidate, BJP and other alliance partners are also planning to hold campaign rallies for their MDA candidate.
“We will be going to Ampati for campaigning,” said Shibun Lyngdoh.
The top leadership of the NPP has recently stated that winning Ampati would be equivalent to a jewel in the crown after its recent victory in Williamnagar.
