Our Bureau
SHILLONG/ TURA: The fate of all 8 candidates of both South Tura and Ranikor, including that of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma will be known on Monday as counting of votes takes place at the Extension Training Centre near the SMELC Building at Dakopgre in Tura and the DC’s office Mawkyrwat respectively.
The counting of votes will begin at 8 am.
In South Tura, a win for the chief minister will help him retain the NPP seat and continue to lead the government, while losing it could pose problems for the ruling MDA coalition. The other candidates in the fray are Congress’s Charlotte W Momin and two independent candidates – former South Tura MLA John Leslee K Sangma and Chris Kabul A Sangma.
Earlier on Saturday, the chief minister exuded confidence that both the seats will be won by NPP.
In Ranikor, the result will show whether former MLA MM Danggo is still acceptable to the people.
During the campaign, he and the NPP had banked on the creation of the civil sub-division for Ranikor to woo the voters after Danggo left the Congress and joined the NPP.
Though the NPP had downplayed anti-incumbency, Danggo is facing a tough battle from UDP’s Pius Marwein though others in the fray, PDF’s P N Syiem and Congress’s Jackius Sangma could play crucial roles in deciding the winner.
While Conrad and the NPP along with its coalition are banking on the fact that the people will cast their votes to elect a permanent chief minister from the constituency, his opponents including the Congress, in the run up to the polls, had criticised Conrad for his statement on the state Education Policy and his proposal to issue work permits to Bangladeshis.
Even as Conrad tried to clarify his statement on education policy and work permit, his opponents had used the same issues to try and convince the voters to vote in their favour.
With both sides having had their say, it is now just a matter of time before the result puts a stamp on the candidate who has proved to be more convincing to the voters.
With votes already having been polled, the future of the state and the government will depend on how the people of South Tura have voted.
Will chief minister retain his post at the Head of the state, or will there be a change of government? The answer to this question will only be known once the counting of votes is completed on Monday.