SHILLONG: Senior Congress leader Ampareen Lyngdoh on Thursday called for an urgent review of the party’s consecutive losses in the state bye-elections after it came a cropper in the Shella assembly bypoll. She said the string of five debacles could have massive ramification for the party in the 2023 assembly elections if no course correction is done.
The Congress candidate, Batyngshain Laitmon Ryngnga, could secure only 1715 votes in the Shella bypoll.
“We have failed and what is worrying for me is that apart from the entire country where we have performed very badly, we have lost five consecutive bye-elections in the state which tells us a big story and if my colleagues in the Congress don’t review the matter urgently, I fear it will have major ramifications for us in 2023,” a visibly perturbed Lyngdoh said while speaking to The Shillong Times here after the Shella rout.
Lamenting the confusion within the party over the selection of candidate for the bye-election, she said the matter was not handled properly.
Differences in the party pertaining to the allotment of the ticket were visible right from the beginning as some senior leaders were not in favour of the candidate.
“We cannot just look at this election and say it had to happen and we could have performed better… whether my colleagues agree or not, we could have made substantial inroads there,” she said.
Lyngdoh said that it is better to speak honestly than to pretend as if nothing has happened when the truth is far from being rosy.
Congratulating UDP candidate Balajied Kupar Synrem for his impressive win in the election, Lyngdoh added that the victory is a good tribute to his father and veteran leader Donkupar Roy by the people of Shella. It was Roy’s demise that necessitated the bypoll. Commenting on the BJP’s poor performance, she said that there has never been a synchronisation and there will be never be any between the party and the people of Meghalaya.
