Poll campaign yet to pick up pace in city

SHILLONG: The elections to the Lok Sabha in Meghalaya will be held in 20 days’ time, but campaigning for the Shillong seat is yet to make any meaningful beginning.
However, in Garo hills, both Congress and the NPP kicked off their campaigns on Monday with their nominees Mukul Sangma and Agatha Sangma respectively addressing rallies.
While Mukul addressed a meeting in Songsak, his Assembly constituency, Agatha retraced her father’s footsteps to address one in Adokgre in North Garo Hills. Her father late Purno A Sangma used to launch his campaigns from the village.
In Shillong, on the other hand, UDP’s Jemino Mawthoh and Congress’ Vincent Pala are attending small meetings. The BJP has not hit the campaign trail yet as a question mark seems to hang over its participation in the polls, having not named its candidates so far although it has said it would contest.
A veteran politician of Meghalaya said that the contesting parties will up their ante only after the scrutiny of nominations.
On Tuesday, the second day of filing of nominations by the candidates, only KHNAM nominee THS Bonney filed his papers while MDA’s common candidate and UDP leader Jemino Mawthoh is expected to file his on Wednesday.
Vincent Pala is expected to file his nomination later this week.
So far, none of the contesting parties in Shillong be it the Congress, the UDP or the BJP have even prepared the list of their star campaigners who would garner support for their respective candidates.
With political parties and candidates themselves lying low, there is little to indicate in the state capital that elections are round the corner.
However in the Secretariat here, the frequency of ministers’ visit has started dropping as they get busy with the quinquennial event.