TURA, Oct 27 : The curtains have finally fallen on the high intensity campaign between the Congress and the NPP for the Rajabala by-election on Wednesday evening with both sides making their best efforts to woo the voters to their side.
While Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma led the NPP charge by pitching camp for several days in the constituency during the last leg of the campaign, for the Congress it was former chief minister Mukul Sangma and MPCC president Vincent Pala that led from the front.
This campaign revolved around who did better or worse in governance.
The Congress, led by Mukul Sangma, charged the NPP government of Conrad Sangma for failing to bring development to the state and Rajabala.
Mukul said that the NPP government has stepped into one folly after another and was unable to find its ground when it comes to development. This, he said, was the reason people are keen to show their rejection of the current government by voting for the congress.
“This government has not even come up with any new projects. Even the schemes we sanctioned during our tenure have failed to progress further because of the current government. There is frustration all around,” says Mukul Sangma.
It was seconded by his younger sibling and former minister Zenith Sangma who told supporters at Rajabala ground on Wednesday that the NPP looks for votes during elections but forgets voters after victory.
“The NPP is only out to purchase votes and not the interest of the people. Look at Tura who voted him in because he was made the chief minister. There is no development there and he (Conrad) is now in search of a new constituency to contest the next polls,” claims Zenith.
The chief minister, on the other hand, has termed this campaign as something never witnessed before. “Never in the history of campaigns in Garo Hills has so much emphasis been given for a by-poll. From MDCs to MLAs to the chief minister, we have all reached out to you (voters) because we understand the importance of the voters,” says Conrad Sangma.
Terming the Congress attacks against the NPP as a means of frustration, the chief minister questioned the work of the Congress during Mukul Sangma’s tenure.
He said Mukul Sangma was chief minister for eight long years and there was a time when the NPP had only two MLAs in the assembly, yet, the people dumped him and his party because they used threats instead of working for the people.
“People voted us in because the Mukul Sangma government did not work. It is simple logic- if you work, people vote, if you don’t then you get rejected.”