CONSTITUENCY WATCH
SHILLONG, Feb 14: Mylliem constituency is heading for a close battle between VPP woman candidate Aibandaplin L Nonglait and Congress’s Banphiralang Basaiawmoit. The campaign in Mylliem constituency has been a low profile in this election as candidates prefer holding pocket meetings in various parts of the constituency.
Interestingly, all candidates this time around are new faces including UDP’s Gilbert Laloo, NPP’s Finestar Kharkongor, and Independent Lionel Nongkhlaw.
Meanwhile, the VPP candidate hopes to repeat her 2023 Assembly polls performance where after being defeated by Congress MLA and former Opposition Leader Ronnie V Lyngdoh by 38 votes pushed her to the second spot in the Assembly tally of the constituency.
It would be interesting to see if Independent candidate Lionel Nongkhlaw, who is a former member of the VPP, will play a spoilsport to Aibandaplin prospect since he has a strong base in the upper side of the constituency like Pomlum and Mawnianglah.
According to the report, the VPP candidate’s presence is much weaker in the lower side of the constituency where a major chunk of the votes is likely to be shared by the Congress, NPP and UDP. However, she has an upper hand in the upper region of the constituency.
The VPP candidate is likely to gain substantial votes in the Mylliem Lum area like Pomlakrai, Mawpynthih and Umiew since it is a stronghold of the VPP chief, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit. Mylliem Lum area falls under Nongkrem Assembly constituency.
She is also hopeful of riding the ‘VPP wave’, owing to party’s excellent performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
The question however remains to be answered whether the tussle of Basaiawmoit with certain Dorbar Shnongs would hamper the VPP candidate’s chances as the traditional institutions play a critical role in the socio-political landscape of the constituency.
Meanwhile, Congress’s Banphiralang Basaiawmoit is expecting to have an edge since the party has an established root in the constituency.
The party had won the seat since 2008 Assembly polls except in 2018 when the seat was won by former Cabinet Minister Hamletson Dohling who had contested on PDF ticket.
The party managed to rebound back by winning the seat in 2023.
With the sitting Congress MDC and MLA (Ronnie Lyngdoh) stepping aside, Basaiawmoit believes that he can repeat the party dominance in the constituency.
The Congress candidate believes that securing the seat would solidify Congress’s hold over Mylliem. However, a section of the electorates believe that the Congress has not been able to deliver during the past two years.
They also feel that the anti-incumbency factor against the sitting Congress MLA might affect the prospect of the Congress candidate to a certain extent.
Meanwhile, the NPP candidate is depending on the influence of former MLA Hamletson Dohling to bolster his campaign. The NPP candidate would have to counter the anti-NPP wave which is very much prevalent in the constituency.
It is presumed that the NPP candidate would do well in a few pockets like Nongkseh, Umlyngka and especially Lummawbah, which is the home place of the former MLA.
It is also reported that the NPP candidate is expected to get votes from the supporters of the sitting MDC from Nongkrem, Lambor Malngiang in the Mylliem Lum area.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Malngiang has asked his supporters to vote for the NPP candidate this time.
UDP’s Gilbert Laloo, who contested the 2023 Assembly polls on a TMC ticket, is trying hard to see the contest swing in his favour.
Laloo has been highlighting that the VPP candidate is an outsider, hailing from Lawsohtun in Laban-Mawprem. How effectively this narrative resonates with Mylliem voters remains to be seen.
Finally, Lionel Nongkhlaw, running as an Independent, caters to those fed up with partisan politics.
The expectation is such among candidates that VPP would not replicate what it achieved in the Lok Sabha polls from Shillong parliamentary seat in 2024.
Out of the 28,053 votes who cast their votes in the Mylliem constituency during the Lok Sabha Polls, the VPP got 18,260 votes.
A total of 43,133 voters will cast their ballots in the 73 polling stations in Mylliem, including 23,329 female voters and 19,794 male voters.