SHILLONG, June 12: As the Assembly elections draw nearer, one of the interesting battles is set to go down in Pynthorumkhrah constituency, which is BJP leader AL Hek’s bastion, as Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) working president, PN Syiem, has opined that the grand-old party is well accepted in the Constituency even as he pointed at past elections, wherein candidates lost to Hek by a narrow margin.
Five-time MLA from Pynthorumkhrah, Hek will be going up against Syiem, who is a sitting MDC, besides few others in the 2023 polls.
The two leaders have begun their campaign in the Constituency, albeit on a smaller scale.
A confident Syiem says he will work hard irrespective of how many leaders he has to go up against in the upcoming polls.
Talking about the purported narrow-margin win, the MPCC working president said, “PT Sawkmie in 2013 contested as an Independent; he lost with only 1,800 (votes). In 2018, Bah Ban, from PDF, he lost by 1,400 votes.”
“The number of candidates does not matter. I will fight from Congress and it is a party which is well accepted in Pynthormukhrah,” he said, while indicating that his ground support for a win is strong.
Stating that he is not a new face in the constituency since he is an MDC, Syiem flaunted his experience in politics — as the Chief Executive Member of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), an MLA and MDC.
The defender, AL Hek, who is aware of the challenges surrounding him in the polls, has reaffirmed that he is not going to take the fight easy.
“Elections cannot be taken easily and the way I have contested and won the election since last five terms, I will work hard in the same to ensure that I come back,” Hek had earlier said.
