SHILLONG: The filing of nominations for the Lok Sabha elections will start from Monday and will continue till March 25.
Chief Electoral Officer Frederick Kharkongor said the returning officers (ROs) will receive nominations for Shillong and Tura Lok Sabha seats. The date of issue of gazette notification is March 18.
The state falls under the first phase of voting on April 11. The date for scrutiny of nominations is March 26 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is March 28.
As per the final rolls published on January 17, the number of electors is 1,182,725 in Shillong and 709,991 in Tura.
With just one week for filing of papers, political parties are set to face a hectic week ahead.
For the Shillong seat, Jemino Mawthoh, former legislator from UDP, will face Congress MP Vincent Pala. In Tura, NPP’s Agatha Sangma will have Congress’s Mukul Sangma as her primary rival.
BJP tightlipped
Although filing of nominations for the Lok Sabha polls starts on Monday the BJP is still tight-lipped about fielding candidates for both Shillong and Tura seats.
The party’s state election committee had recommended several names to the central election committee for its nod. However, the central leadership is yet to approve the names.
When contacted, the BJP leader in-charge Meghalaya Nalin Kohli said the central election committee will take a decision.
When asked whether the BJP has any plan to contest the polls, Kohli said, “The questions like whether to contest or not and the names of the candidates will be decided by the central election committee headed by the national president of the party along with the Prime Minister.”
Setback in EGH
BJP suffered a setback on Sunday after several of its members in Williamnagar in East Garo Hills resigned over delay in the announcement of tickets and the party not fielding a candidate in Tura.
Those who resigned included mandal committee president Kullen Sangma, Mahila Morcha president Serola Sangma and Yuva Morcha president Charles Sangma.
The three leaders dissolved the committees that they were heading and served mass resignations from the primary membership of BJP as well as their respective posts.
