TURA/SHILLONG, Nov 22: Results for the Gambegre bypoll is set to be declared on Saturday with as many as six candidates in with a chance to win the election and serve the people of the constituency until the next election in 2028.
The results will be declared on the same day as the states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand which also had their Assembly elections and other necessitated bypolls across the country.
The seat, which has been extremely close to call given the present dynamics, saw NPP’s Mehtab Chandee Sangma, Congress’ Jingjang Marak, TMC’s Sadhiarani Sangma, BJP’s Bernard Marak as well as two independent candidates, Sengkrabirth Marak and Jerry Sangma throw their hat in the ring.
Voting for the bypoll took place on November 13 and saw 90.93% of voters exercise their franchise.
Counting will begin at 8 am with postal ballots being the first to be taken up.
As per a release by the Election Commission, a three-tier security system has been set up with CCTVs being installed within to ensure transparency. A total of 14 tables will be used across the 51 polling stations.
The results will matters significantly to the NPP which has put up Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s spouse Mehtab Chandee in what is her electoral debut.
After a disastrous loss in the Tura Lok Sabha seat at the hands of the Congress, a win in Gambegre will re-establish the NPP’s foothold in the Garo Hills region.
The TMC which has fielded Zenith Sangma’s wife and GHADC MDC, Sadhiarani Sangma, is aiming to gain some ground and go one up against its rivals – NPP.
BJP’s Bernard Marak is banking on the party’s grassroots support to sail through while the Congress is expecting a repeat of its victory in the Tura parliamentary seat.
