SHILLONG, Feb 14: The Mawryngkneng Block Congress Committee (MBCC) on Sunday urged Nongthymmai MLA and Congress legislator, Charles Pyngrope, to reconsider his decision that none from his family would contest the Mawryngkneng by-election.
The Mawryngkneng Assembly seat fell vacant after the demise of Pyngrope’s son and two-time MLA, David Nongrum, on February 2.
“All the units of the block Congress have urged Charles Pyngrope to reconsider his decision. People have strong faith in the family to lead the Mawryngkneng Constituency beyond 2023. We hope that he would reconsider his decision for the love of the people,” MBCC president Banshan Lawai said on Sunday.
Lawai said the block Congress members were earlier happy to hear reports of Pyngrope’s daughter contesting the bypoll.
But the joy was shortlived after the former Assembly Speaker issued a statement clarifying that none from his family would contest the bypoll.
Pyngrope had subsequently communicated his decision to the president and working president of the MPCC, while urging the party to start the process of finding a suitable candidate to contest the by-election from the party.
Informing that the MBCC had a meeting and resolved to urge Pyngrope to reconsider his decision, Lawai said, “We have urged him and hopefully he would convey his decision to the block Congress in a day or two”.
To a query that the Congress had lost the last election in Selsella constituency, Lawai said that in Selsella, chief minister Conrad Sangma has a strong hold since he had already represented the constituency between 2008 and 2013.
He also asserted that Congress would be able to win the bypoll if Pyngrope led the election campaign of the party.