SHILLONG, Oct 17: The campaign of the National people’s Party (NPP) in Mawryngkneng received a shot in the arm with prominent leaders of the Congress, UDP and PDF coming out in support of party candidate and Sohryngkham MDC, Pyniaid Sing Syiem during an election meeting at Diengpasoh on Saturday.
Mawryngkneng Block Congress Committee (MBCC) vice president, Elias Kharbihkhiew said he has decided to support the campaign for Syiem as he can do much more for the development of the constituency as the candidate of the party which is leading the government in the state.
Besides Kharbihkhiew, other Congress leaders from Mawryngkneng like Solomon Marboh and Dr OS Jyrwa are also supporting Syiem in the bypoll.
UDP leader Pynehborlang Mukhim and former PDF leader Harkin Warjri have also extended support Syiem.
While the NPP continues to make inroads in Mawryngkneng, a Congress bastion, the latter is facing a mild crisis with former secretary of Mawryngkneng Block Congress Committee (MBCC), Ronald Kharumnuid slamming the Congress leadership for awarding the party ticket to Highlander Kharmalki without consulting party leaders and members of the MBCC.
Kharumnuid also alleged that he (Kharmalki) had directly gone to meet MPCC president Vincent H. Pala to seek the party ticket.
The former Congressman also slammed the Congress and the NPP candidates for promising to follow up on the unfinished job of late MLA, David A. Nongrum.
“What do they know about the work of the late MLA? They are outsiders. We are the ones who had worked closely with Nongrum since he was first elected in 2013,” Kharumnuid said.
Independent candidate dumps ‘dummy’ rumour
Independent candidate for the Mawryngkneng by-election, Norbert Marboh has dismissed rumours that he has been projected as a dummy candidate and claimed that his political opponents were out to create confusion among the voters.
“I am neither team A nor team B of any candidate. It is mere propaganda by my opponents,” Marboh, a former Congress leader, said while addressing an election meeting at Mawryngkneng.
He made it clear that he decided to contest the October 30 bypolls with the intention of serving the people of the constituency and asserted that he will avoid any mudslinging during his campaign.
Talking about the proscribed HNLC’s diktat to people against voting for the NPP, he said, “It is difficult to understand why the HNLC is targeting only the NPP but there must be reasons for them to react this way.”