SHILLONG, Sep 30: The Congress suffered a major blow on Thursday with MDC Lamphrang Blah deciding to join the National People’s Party (NPP) to contest the upcoming bypoll from Mawphlang Assembly constituency.
Blah, who represented Mawphlang as an MDC for the fourth straight term since 2004, took the decision after a meeting with his leaders and supporters at Mawphlang. He will be formally inducted into the NPP on October 2.
The MDC apparently decided to quit Congress as he did not want to “fight for the party ticket”.
According to Congress insiders, State unit chief Vincent H. Pala had hinted at fielding former MLA Kennedy C. Khyriem from Mawphlang.
Blah is learnt to have made up his mind to not seek a Congress ticket after finding out that the MPCC president favoured Khyriem. Blah also reportedly felt the time was ripe for him to upgrade after representing the people of Mawphlang as an MDC for almost 20 years.
MPCC working president Ampareen Lyngdoh asserted that the party has not zeroed in on any candidate for Mawphlang or Rajabala. “We have only decided to field Highlander Kharmalki as the party candidate from the Mawryngkneng seat, she said.
But she admitted there is a “general feeling” that the party should field Khyriem from Mawphlang.
“A majority of the people want us to field Hasina Yasmin, the widow of party MLA Azad Zaman from Rajabala,” Lyngdoh said.
She, however, made it clear that the party high command takes the final call on candidate selection. “We have an inherent system in place to decide on the allotment of the party ticket,” she added.
Meanwhile, MPCC working president also informed that the State Election Committee will meet on Saturday to decide the names of candidates for Mawryngkneng and Rajabala seats.
