Gambegre bypoll: NPP dismisses Congress wave

SHILLONG, Oct 31: The National People’s Party (NPP) on Thursday said there is no wave in favour of the Congress in the Gambegre Assembly constituency which will go to by-elections on November 13.
Talking to reporters, NPP leader and Cabinet Minister Rakkam Sangma exuded confidence that party candidate Mehtab Chandee, who is Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s wife, will win the polls with a record margin of votes.
He claimed that support for her is growing with each passing day.
Chandee is pitted against the Congress’ Jingjang Marak among others.
Sangma said Gambegre went to wrong hands in the last Assembly elections as the victor, Saleng Sangma who is now the Tura MP, had to sit in the Opposition. He claimed that the voters now want to elect someone who will be a part of NPP-led ruling dispensation.
He dismissed the allegation that the NPP was distributing CGI sheets to the voters to woo them.
He alleged that on the contrary, Saleng is luring voters by promising work order from his MP schemes.
Stating that the greatest fear of a politician is to sit in the Opposition and the voters want their MLAs to be ministers, Speaker etc, Sangma claimed that the people of Gambegre want the government’s support for the development of their constituency.
He said the victory of Saleng in the last Lok Sabha polls was a “miracle”.
He said the Congress will suffer a setback in the by-poll as the BJP is also contesting. He claimed that the two parties had worked together in the Lok Sabha polls to secure Saleng’s victory.