SHILLONG, Feb 20: Despite the question mark on the choice of candidate to represent the UDP from Nongkrem constituency in the 2023 Assembly elections, party chief adviser, Bindo Mathew Lanong, is now upbeat about getting the ticket to contest from Nongkrem next year.
“I am confident to be awarded the ticket being a founding member of the party. I am open for scrutiny by the party election committee on my winnability factor,” Lanong said here on Sunday.
Stating that he is preparing well for the upcoming elections, Lanong said he knows where his position stands after preparing, for the past six months, the ground work to contest from Nongkrem.
According to Lanong, there are only few leaders who are hell-bent on seeing Independent MLA, Lambor Malngiang, represent the party from Nongkrem in the Assembly elections.
“But the party ticket cannot be decided on the whims and fancies of few individuals. There are many factors which are involved before any final decision is taken to allot the party ticket,” Lanong said.
The UDP chief adviser also informed that he wrote to both party president and general secretary only recently expressing his intention to contest the upcoming Assembly polls.
“I think by now, both the president and general secretary would be aware about my plan,” Lanong said.
Meanwhile, he maintained that he will not have any problem if the party circle recommends the name of Malngiang for the ticket if the sitting MLA joins the party as associate member like late SK Sunn and Samuel Sangma.
“In such a situation, I might not even contest the election,” the UDP chief adviser added.