TURA: This is a tale of two parties, separated by ideology and opinion, united by one sole aim- to bag the coveted Tura Lok Sabha seat.
The Congress’s Mukul Sangma believes there can be no alternative to the party which has a pan India presence since the days of old, whereas the National People’s Party chief Conrad Sangma says it is his party that has become the only voice representing the aspirations of the people of the North East, be it in Meghalaya, Manipur or Nagaland and beyond.
in Rangsakona on Friday.
As the political battle heats up for the first phase of elections that includes the prestigious Tura Lok Sabha seat, both the Congress and the NPP are wooing voters with their side of the story.
Once again, the race for the Tura seat is expected to witness more than a battle of frayed nerves and bruised egos. For both the parties, the battle in Tura is a case of political being personal.
“The NPP is the only party that has brought all regional parties on one platform. A united front from the North East will be a very strong voice in Delhi,” says the NPP chief and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma while rallying support for his party candidate in outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency on Friday.
He believes the vision laid down by his late father and NPP founder P A Sangma to unite the North East under a single regional party (read the NPP) has become a reality.
“When Congress was in power in Delhi they spoke about Look East policy. When the BJP came to power they coined the phrase Act East policy. But I say to all my fellow Northeastern friends, nobody is going to look for us or act for us. We have to do it ourselves. That is why P A Sangma wanted a party that will understand the pulse of the people and be its voice and NPP was born,” says Conrad Sangma.
But for Congress’s Mukul Sangma, the sole alternative is the Congress party.
“Five years ago, after Modi came to power people of India have suffered. They have been oppressed. Laws that went against the interest of the people were framed by the government. Had it not been for the Congress, the BJP government would have forced upon us certain rules and laws that went against the people,” claims Mukul Sangma while holding an election rally at his younger brother’s assembly constituency of Rangsakona on Friday afternoon.
The Congress candidate believes people are aware of the difficulties they faced under the current central government. “The people of this country are now looking to the Congress,” says Mukul Sangma confidently.
He doesn’t forget to put in a few lines of his government’s tenure in the state when he was the chief minister for eight long years.
“We gave development to the state during my tenure and people are aware of the schemes that were implemented. Now a new government is in the state, people will judge them by their work,” said the former chief minister and leader of the opposition.
For Mukul Sangma, successive defeats of the Congress in Tura parliamentary election, including memory of the defeat of his wife and party candidate in the by-election not too long ago will remain fresh and ensure he puts in his all to create history.
For NPP chief Conrad Sangma no stone will be left unturned to ensure the Tura seat continues to remain an NPP bastion.