SHILLONG, Oct 30: A day after United Democratic Party (UDP) chief adviser Bindo Mathew Lanong claimed that Nongkrem MLA Lambor Malngiang was shelling out money to secure the party’s ticket for the 2023 elections, the party on Sunday termed the allegations as ridiculous.
UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh said the allegations would be discussed during the party’s core committee meeting on Monday.
He asked Lanong to substantiate his ‘money for ticket’ claim. “We will be happy if he points out the name of the person who has taken the money,” he said, while adding that he had been in the UDP for long and had never heard anything like this.
Mawthoh said Lanong, who is a senior leader of the party and a member of the core committee, has been invited to attend the meeting.
Asserting that the party exercises due caution while identifying and selecting a candidates, Mawthoh said as per procedure, the name of the candidate is proposed at the constituency level and followed up at the district level after which the state election committee takes a final call. “The UDP does not select candidates based on the whims and fancies of a few leaders and it depends hugely on the recommendation they get from the booth or district level,” he said.
Mawthoh also said the first list of candidates would be announced in the first or second week of November.
Making it clear that the party wants to lead the government this time, he added that the UDP would contest in as many seats as possible.
It may be added here that Lanong had maintained that he did not see any reason or merit for the UDP to award the ticket to Malngiang and he might have paid money to get the party ticket.