TURA, Oct 22: In a big blow to the election campaign of the ruling NPP, the Returning Officer for Rajabala constituency by-election has issued a letter directing the party to restrain GHADC chief Benedic R Marak from further campaigning in the constituency.
The restraining order was given after an enquiry found the CEM to be present in one of the villages under Rajabala well past the 7 PM campaign deadline on the night the alleged threat to voters is said to have been made.
The CEM stands accused of visiting Belbari Tillapara village under Rajabala constituency on October 18th where the verbal threat is alleged to have been made against voters. He was allegedly peeved with the low turnout for his late night meeting.
However, the enquiry report does not find any evidence of election coercion made in the audio.
“The enquiry report shows that in the audio there is no mention about election or demand of vote for any particular candidate. But, the probe finds that the CEM was present in the area on that night well past the election campaign guidelines,” said returning Officer C N Sangma while speaking to The Shillong Times on Friday.
The villagers from the concerned area are said to have told the probe team about the CEM’s entry to their village at night and also confirmed that the voice on the audio tape belonged to him.
The campaign period for candidates and political parties is restricted to a nine hour window- 10 AM to 7 PM with necessary covid protocols such as limited number of people in rallies to be followed.
Given that CEM Benedic Marak is one of the star campaigners of the party for Rajabala, there is every possibility that a similar attempt could be made to violate the guidelines which was why the letter has been given to the NPP district president J D Sangma by the Returning Officer.
“He (CEM) has not been banned but he may be restrained from further entering Rajabala constituency until all election processes are over,” clarified the Returning Officer.
Congress disallowed from meeting in Tura: Meanwhile, a meeting of Congress leaders and party functionaries, including workers, scheduled for Saturday at Tura Congress bhawan has been disallowed by the Returning Officer.
The denial of permission is based on the Election Commission of India restrictions in place for the ongoing election in three constituencies of the state.