TURA: With just a day left for campaigning to end, the political battle for supremacy in Ampati has reached its zenith, with both the Congress and the NPP trading charges, at times even blows, in a high pitch campaign never seen before in previous elections in this sleepy district headquarters of south West Garo Hills.
The NPP has lodged an FIR with Ampati police after several dozen youth, allegedly aligned to the opposition Congress, gheraoed one of their elected legislators and prevented him from undertaking house visits in Ampati town.
According to NPP leaders, the NPP’s North Tura MLA Thomas A Sangma along with some of his supporters had been paying a visit to some homes in proper Ampati to seek support for their candidate, Clement G Momin, when trouble broke out.
“We had paid a courtesy visit to the house of the Nokma and was returning to our vehicles around 6 PM when around 25-30 youth surrounded us demanding that we exit from the place,” said NPP leader Mathias Marak.
Sensing the tense situation taking form, the NPP delegation headed back and later filed a police FIR over the incident.
Congress sources, however, claim that the NPP was holding election campaign without getting permission from the authorities.
Elsewhere, in Betasing, trouble broke out allegedly between NPP and Congress supporters in which a youth Congress leader, identified as Dharkan Sangma, was assaulted.
According to police sources, the incident took place at Bainapara village under Betasing police outpost jurisdiction at around 8 PM when a campaign team of the NPP that had gone to the village clashed with Congress supporters.
“Our Betasing In-Charge who was on routine patrol was passing through the area when he spotted the fight taking place. He managed to pull away to safety one person who was being assaulted,” informed superintendent of police Bobby Momin.
Later, a mob barged into the Betasing outpost angry over the incident and demanding arrest of the culprits. Police had a trying time cooling tempers and it was only past midnight that tempers eased and the crowd disappeared.
While the election machinery has sought additional security forces for the upcoming by-election to Ampati, a fresh batch of four companies of the CRPF has arrived in station to provide security.
