SHILLONG/TURA: The BJP candidate for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat, Sanbor Shullai, has said that the issue of farm loan waiver should also be addressed in the state while calling both the Congress and regional parties friends of the rich.
In his public and party meetings held in Byrnihat, Nongpoh and Ummulong, the BJP MLA highlighted the issues faced by farmers and teachers.
Addressing the issue of farmers, he said that that until now, no one has addressed it although farmers are under severe financial stress.
“We should stress on organic farming as it would give a boost to the agriculture sector in Meghalaya,” he said.
He said that both the Congress and the regional parties shake hands with the rich, but the only party which addresses the grievances of the poor is the BJP as several schemes have been launched by the party, including free LPG, MUDRA loan, health insurance etc for them.
He also feels that anti incumbency factor will hit the Congress candidate and sitting MP, Vincent H Pala, while people would not like to send a regional party to Delhi. Together, the two factors would give BJP the upper hand and people will cast their votes for the party in sync with the mood of the nation.
Silent campaign
Meanwhile, the saffron party is barely noticed amidst the colourful campaign blitzkrieg launched by what would appear to be the two main contenders for the Tura Lok Sabha seat – Congress and NPP. Yet, they are far from being written off.
“We may not be having giant colourful campaigns but our party cadres are working hard at the grass-root level moving from village to village trying to garner support for our candidate Rikman Momin. Our strategy is built on pocket meetings in villages,” clarified BJP spokesperson from Garo Hills Digros D Shira while speaking to The Shillong Times on Saturday afternoon.
He said that unlike the two rival parties ‘grand’ rallies, the BJP has been focusing on such type of meetings so that voters from a cluster of villages get an opportunity to interact with the party’s candidate minus the ‘media fanfare’.
Giving examples, he said that their candidate recently conducted two ‘successful’ close quarter meetings with voters in the Mendipathar region of North Garo Hills which has a strong support base for the BJP.
Unlike the last assembly elections in 2018 when the BJP had put up a formidable challenge to both the Congress and the NPP in the Garo Hills, narrowly losing out in several constituencies, including South Tura, where Agatha Sangma defeated her nearest rival Billykid Sangma from the BJP, this time the campaign has been subdued.
“One of the primary reasons is the delay by the party in allotting the ticket and the absence of any party MLA in our midst. People tend to attend meetings and rallies where their elected representatives show up,” indicated Digros Shira.
He denied that the resignation of some party leaders had dented the party clarifying that the dedicated booth level workers were continuing to work hard on the ground.
“The resignation of senior leaders like Edmund K Sangma, Santosh Marak and Thomas Marak has impacted somewhat but it has been a temporary episode. One has to remember that dedicated voters of BJP will only go with our party and don’t forget that every indication is of the next government formation being from the NDA led by the BJP,” a confident Digros Shira claimed.
He added that it is with this as a political weapon that the party in Garo Hills is hoping to sway voters on voting day.
