By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 29: National People’s Party (NPP) leader and former MLA, James Sangma on Saturday said he is not in the race for a ticket for the by-poll to the Gambegre Assembly seat.
He said this has been made amply clear to the party leadership and the question of a rift within the family, thus, does not arise.
“Reports of a rift are baseless and false as I have never shown any intention to contest the Gambegre seat. Based on rumours, people have presumed there is a division in our family,” he said.
“It is one thing for people to speculate about me and quite another for them to start saying that there is a rift in the family,” Sangma said.
Referring to reports that he is among the top four NPP contenders for a ticket, he said: “All sorts of names get thrown about whenever such a situation arises. This does not mean the party has taken any decision.”
He, however, did not rule out the possibility of two or three individuals discussing his name.
The party will select the right candidate after its election committee assesses the ground realities of the constituency, he said. “The political dynamics of a constituency is first taken into consideration,” he added.
Sangma insisted it was about time to lay things related to his candidature to rest.