TURA, April 9: In an election fraught with claims and counter-claims, allegations and counter-allegations, with emotions and rhetoric at an all-time high, the GHADC elections are all set to be a Sangma versus Sangma battle.
Not willing to leave anything to chance, the two political heavyweights from Garo Hills, Conrad Sangma and Mukul Sangma, have been trading places, taking the battle to their bête noire bastions in the hope of swinging the political fortunes to their side.
Former chief minister and Congress leader Mukul Sangma was on Friday at his political best in Dadenggre town, home to Conrad’s brother, James Sangma.
Hurling flak on James, Mukul questioned the lack of development in Dadenggre and urged voters to give a “befitting reply” in GHADC elections.
“Three years of NPP government have passed but where is the development of Dadenggre, a constituency he has been representing for fifteen long years,” questioned the Congress leader, while beseeching the voters to send a strong message by rejecting the NPP on the polling day.
A similar scenario unfolded on the same day, this time at Ampati town — bastion of Mukul and his family, where Chief Minister Conrad Sangma arrived with his juggernaut of NPP and talked about the “shifting sands” for the Congress in its once impregnable fortress.
Holding, by far, one of the biggest political rallies ever in Ampati, the chief minister went all out against Mukul and his party, questioning what does the Congress means by “development”.
“Mukul Sangma and the Congress claim people have benefited from development done by the Congress. If that was to be true, would such a massive crowd of several thousand people come to give us support,” the chief minister asked rhetorically.
The NPP has termed Friday evening’s mammoth gathering at Ampati as the final nail in the political coffin of the Congress.
“People from Ampati and entire region have come to support us because they have witnessed our good work. They have seen our commitment to listen to their grievances and act upon it for a better life for them. This is one of the largest gatherings ever in Ampati and it reveals there is a wave of the NPP in what was once Mukul Sangma’s stronghold. We are confident of winning 20 seats in this election,” asserted Conrad.
The blame game for the turmoil in the GHADC was also the leading topic for both parties.
At Dadenggre, Mukul accused the NPP of destroying the district council with its various acts and omissions and charged it with widespread misappropriation of central funds meant for development.
“Various RTI documents will reveal the misappropriation of crores of rupees in funding for developmental schemes. Money has been withdrawn but work never took off. That is why people have moved the anti-corruption courts of the Lokayukta in the state,” said the Congress leader, staking a claim to the establishment of the Lokayukta court in Meghalaya.
Conrad, on the other hand, accused Mukul of misrepresenting facts to garner votes as he maintains that evidence is visible at construction sites of the projects, including Tura.
The party has also gone on a war mode distributing documents and pictures of various projects under construction at different places in Garo Hills.
“Don’t believe NPP’s claim of development of GHADC. It is our sanctions,” says Mukul.
However, Conrad has a different story to this.
He says, “It is our NPP that has initiated reforms in the Council by plugging financial loopholes and halting the widespread illegal appointments which was draining its resources.”