By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 7: State BJP vice president and Tura MDC, Bernard Marak, has signalled a sharpened and more selective approach by the party ahead of the upcoming Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections, saying preparations are underway, but ticket distribution will not be open to “any Tom, Dick or Harry”.
Marak said the GHADC elections, expected in April, were still a few months away, and the party would begin full-scale mobilisation after Christmas. According to him, groundwork had already begun, with organisational structuring and constituency-level preparations taking shape.
Marak stated that the party would not permit individuals unfamiliar with the principles, ideals and system of the BJP to seek tickets.
According to him, the party recently decided that tickets would be given only to Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, and the move was aimed at encouraging ST leaders to take the initiative and strengthen grassroots representation.
Marak said the party had not yet invited formal applications from prospective candidates.
He informed that discussions within the organisation were still ongoing, and the final contours of the candidate selection process would be shaped in the coming weeks.
The BJP leader indicated that the party intends to enter the GHADC election phase with a more disciplined and ideologically aligned slate of candidates, signalling a tighter internal screen before names are cleared for the 2025 council polls.
Earlier, a section of BJP leaders had voiced opposition to the party’s decision to field Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates in the upcoming Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections, advocating for the traditional system that allowed candidates from any community to contest.
The dissent, however, was overruled by senior and prominent leaders.
Marak said that the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution was designed to safeguard the interests of hill tribals, ensuring that bona fide voters in the Garo Hills prior to Independence are not disenfranchised.
