GUWAHATI: Former legislator Billykid A Sangma termed chief minister and NPP national president Conrad K Sangma’s thumping win as a “victory of the people of South Tura constituency”.
“This is a victory of the people of South Tura. Everyone wanted Tura, being the second largest town in Meghalaya, but very much neglected for over four decades now, to develop. People had the belief that the present chief minister would be able to transform Tura town into a developed one,” Billykid, who had contested on a BJP ticket but lost to Conrad’s sister Agatha Sangma in the February Assembly polls, told The Shillong Times after the by-poll results were declared on Monday.
Agatha had vacated the seat on July 2 to enable him to contest the by-poll that was necessary if he had to continue as chief minister.
Asked if the “chief minister” factor had a bearing on the outcome, Billykid said, “Yes, it was a factor. People have lot of faith in the new, young and energetic chief minister, which is why they voted for him.”
Admitting that the ‘CM’ factor was also one of the reasons for his decision to opt out of the poll race, he said, “Congress legislators and supporters of parties had approached me to contest the by-poll from their parties but I refused. I thought it was not wise to contest against the CM. The bottom line is that the constituency has to grow and develop and none other than the chief minister can perform this role better.”
The BJP member along with the likes of political candidates such as Bernard Rimpu N. Marak and Jingjang Marak had not only opted out of the contest but actively garnered support for Conrad Sangma in the run-up to the by-poll.
