MAWKYRWAT, Feb 17: The Langrin (Ranikor) constituency is gearing up for a duel between the United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate and sitting MDC, Pius Marwein and his National People’s Party (NPP) rival, Mandilost Nongbri in the upcoming KHADC polls.
Other candidates in the fray include the VPP’s Overlin Imiong, Pherdonnam Rngaid of Congress, and the BJP’s Lewis Janong Sooting.
With five-time MLA and former Assembly Speaker, Martin M. Danggo turning his back on Congress and supporting the NPP, the contest this time in Langrin is a fight between Danggo’s group and the UDP. Nongbri has, thus, suddenly emerged as a strong contender ahead of the polls.
In the last few days, almost all the leaders of Danggo’s camp joined the NPP at the residence of Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma in Shillong. Although Danggo has not officially joined the NPP, sources claimed that he is supporting the NPP
This was also confirmed by Nongbri recently. In the past, supporters followed Danggo to whichever party he joined.
However, Nongbri is expected to face tough competition from Marwein, who is also an MLA and known to have consistently worked for the overall development of the constituency as both an MDC and MLA. The UDP is getting stronger each day with the joining of supporters from other political parties, especially from Danggo’s stronghold in the border areas.
The villages in the upland areas are the UDP’s strongholds in the Langrin constituency, and now with his popularity in villages in the border areas, Marwein has positioned himself as a strong contender and political analysts believe that he still has an edge over Nongbri.
VPP candidate Imiong is popular in the upland areas of Langrin whose residents are only Khasis, but he was barely known by the people in the border areas. However, he is likely to face tough competition from Marwein in the upland areas.
The VPP is banking on the party’s popularity, and if it can come close to the 10,674 votes it secured during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, it will pose a serious threat to both Marwein and Nongbri.
Low on popularity, the Congress’s Rngaid has a mountain to climb after Danggo turned his back on the party. The former has maintained a low-profile campaign, with minimal public engagement beyond small pocket meetings.
The BJP’s Sooting is neither known much in the upland areas nor the border areas.
Langrin has 36,160 voters – 17,900 women and 18,260 men.
