SHILLONG, April 16: Senior UDP legislator, Lahkmen Rymbui, on Friday said that former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma is still a force to be reckoned in Garo Hills.
Rymbui’s reaction comes a day after the GHADC election results were announced and the UDP failed to secure even one seat.
“The outcome of the GHADC polls is a lesson for the Congress leaders. We have always heard that there is an attempt to dislodge him (Mukul) from the Congress. I think this is a lesson for the leaders who say that there is a need for a Congress in Meghalaya minus Dr. Mukul,” Rymbui said. According to the him, Congress emerging as the single-largest party by winning 12 out of 29 seats bears witness to the fact that people still look up to the leadership of Mukul Sangma. Expressing disappointment over UDP’s performance in the GHADC polls, he said that the outcome has not changed the position of the party.
According to him, people in Garo Hills, while casting their votes, always look up to leaders who lead the party.
He also conceded that the regional parties have not managed to make their presence felt in Garo Hills except for the Garo National Council (GNC).
“The people of Garo Hills always vote for the national parties. It is for this reason BJP managed to set its foot in Garo Hills in 1998,” Rymbui added.
The UDP leader said that in the past, people in Garo Hills looked up to leaders likes Capt WA Sangma and BG Momin, followed by leaders like Purno A Sangma and Salseng A Marak.
“People now look up to Dr. Mukul Sangma and Conrad K. Sangma while casting their votes,” he said.
