SHILLONG, Nov 6: The Chief Executive Member of KHADC, Titosstarwell Chyne, has said the UDP has been in the ascendancy in the Garo Hills region since the last GHADC elections.
The party’s performance in the Rajabala constituency has infused hope of penetrating deeper into the region and winning seats in the 2023 Assembly polls, he said.
“From the last MDC elections, we have improved a lot in the Garo Hills. The Rajabala by-elections showed that the people in Garo Hills have accepted us as a regional party. We should open the account in the region in 2023,” Chyne said.
The UDP leader said there has been a communication gap between the Khasi and Garo leaders, and the party did not spend much time and energy in the Garo Hills region. “With the new leadership, new team and collective responsibility in the party, we have decided to strengthen our party in the Garo Hills,” he said.
On reports of Congress leaders having campaigned for the UDP candidate in Rajabala, Chyne said, “I cannot say whether they are Congress or non-Congress but our candidate, (Ashahel D.) Shira, was a Congress MDC and it was natural for some Congress leaders to follow him to the UDP.”
He did not rule out internal feud as a reason behind the defeat of the Congress in the bypolls.