Phulbari, Feb 12: Three-time MLA and former Speaker of Meghalaya Assembly, Abu Taher Mondal stated that the decision to join the NPP was a collective one and was taken after consultations with his supporters, friends and family as well as looking at the strength of the NPP in the state.
“NPP is the only pan Meghalaya party that has winnability chances in the upcoming elections. This was not my decision alone as I consulted everyone including my voters, supporters, well-wishers in this decision before making it,” said Mondal during a recent interview in Phulbari.
Asked about his chances of winning back his seat, Mondal stated that it would be up to the Almighty though from their own assessment, there is a cent per cent chance of him returning.
Interestingly, the former Speaker felt that campaigning style in the state has transformed.
“Gone are the days when you needed to hold big meetings and make plenty of noise. I have personally seen that now it all depends on getting the love of the people by visiting their homes. This has really changed the game altogether,” he felt.
Speaking at his house, Mondal chose to remain silent on the performance of his main rival, Mominin, asking rather that things be found out.
“There are many things that an individual MLA should not do but I will not disclose what it is. You need to find out for yourself,” he stated.
Reminiscing about his time at the helm, Mondal said that the perception of the poor condition of the AMPT road through the plain belt, people felt no development had taken place.
“New roads, connectivity were all undertaken during my time, especially after delimitation in 2013. All these villages were connected by me. In 2014, there was a devastating flood that washed away almost all roads, but we rebuilt that. When people count, they don’t count this,” he lamented.
He stated that education has always been an area that was critical to him and that is why he helped in bettering the school system and infrastructure during his time.
“My emphasis was on quality education and that is why Phulbari became a small education hub drawing students from other areas. This is because we have changed the system and got better. The results have been there to see,” he felt.
On the administration front, he asserted that the Demdema C&RD Block has been a blessing to locals and was brought by him.
Speaking about the power scenario, he said that Phulbari remains one of the worst despite his attempts earlier to ensure better load distribution by upgrading the lines from 33 KV to 132 KV.
Mondal is in a neck-to-neck fight with former MLA of Phulbari and the TMC contestant, SG Esmatur Mominin. Two others, the UDP’s Zinbaward Sangma and the BJP’s Edmund Sangma will look to upset the applecart, though as of now there seems no one who has taken a significant lead.
IANS