SHILLONG, May 13: Although shocked, NPP candidate and former MLA, Samlin Malngiang has gracefully accepted his defeat in the deferred election to the Sohiong seat.
Stating that the NPP put in its best effort but its calculations went wrong, he said people’s verdict has to be respected.
After the results were declared on Saturday, NPP spokesperson Bajop Pyngrope said, “Actually, the votes of smaller political parties got consolidated in favour of the UDP at the last minute.”
He said the NPP had set a target of 14,000 votes and it nearly reached that mark. “We didn’t expect the Congress to get such a small number of votes. The Congress itself expected it would get 5,000 votes but it got 1,700 votes. We would have won if the Congress had polled 4,000-5,000 votes. In any case, we accept the mandate of the people,” Pyngrope said.
Asked if the sympathy factor, vis-à-vis the demise of UDP leader HDR Lyngdoh, went against the NPP, he said, “I cannot say it but all parties ganged up against the NPP.”
There were six candidates in the fray. The UDP’s Synshar Kupar Roy Lyngdoh defeated his nearest rival Malngiang by 3,422 votes. The UDP candidate polled 16,679 votes as against 13,257 by his NPP rival. S Osborne Kharjana of the Congress got 1,762 votes. The candidates of the three other parties did not get even 100 votes. Stodingstar Thabah of the TMC bagged 89 votes followed by Sandondor Ryntathiang of the HSPDP (62 votes) and Seraph Eric Kharbuli of the BJP (40 votes).
Although the NPP, which heads the ruling MDA, is a powerhouse in Garo and Jaintia Hills, the constituencies in the Khasi Hills region continue to remain out of its grip. The NPP’s campaign for the Sohiong seat was led by none other than Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma himself.
The Khasi and Jaintia Hills regions have altogether 36 seats – 29 in Khasi Hills and 7 in Jaintia Hills.
The NPP has just four MLAs in Khasi Hills – Ampareen Lyngdoh, Prestone Tynsong, Sosthenes Sohtun and Damanbait Lamare. In Jaintia Hills, it has four MLAs.
Malngiang, the sitting MLA, was with the HSPDP until joining the NPP. Several leaders, including Kimfa Marbaniang and Mohendro Rapsang, had lost the 2023 elections after joining the NPP.
