SHILLONG, Nov 18: The BJP is yet to emerge as a force to be reckoned with in Meghalaya but it is not short on confidence as it is optimistic about winning around 35 seats in next year’s Assembly elections.
The party, which has two MLAs in the 60-member House, indicated that five legislators of Trinamool Congress and other parties would join it ahead of the polls.
After inaugurating a party office in Jail Road here on Friday, BJP state president Ernest Mawrie claimed that three MLAs would come on board in the first week of December while discussions are on with two others.
On the South Tura seat, he said Bernard Marak is an aspirant, who is preparing to contest. So far, Marak is the BJP’s sole aspirant in the seat.
There are multiple BJP aspirants in constituencies including North Shillong and West Shillong and Mawrie said after the election schedule is announced, the party would call for applications. He said the constituency mandals will forward the names to the districts which will be further forwarded to the party’s State Election Committee.
Later, he added, the names of the aspirants will be sent to party’s central parliamentary board and it will ultimately finalise the candidates.
Mawrie said the party is waiting for the reports of surveys being conducted in different constituencies and after taking all the details, it would allot the tickets.
“We hope that the party will issue tickets to candidates who have the winnability factor in line with the survey report,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP’s North Shillong ticket aspirant and former police official Mariahom Kharkrang said the party has been receiving a good response from the people in the North Shillong constituency. He felt the BJP would enjoy an advantage if more candidates vie for the seat.
He felt one of the major issues of the constituency – the relocation of the residents of Harijan Colony – is not an easy task and requires to be handed with sincerity.
“I don’t see any solution in the next couple of months,” he said, adding that the government is giving an impression that a solution is near.
Kharkrang said the unemployment of youth is the biggest problem in the constituency. “If an engineering graduate gets a job of Rs 5,000-6000, it cannot be considered as gainful employment,” he said.
