TURA: Two BJP candidates who have been assured of party tickets only to find their names missing at the eleventh hour, has gone ahead to file their nomination papers as Independents after resigning from the party in West Garo Hills.
Senior BJP leader and the party’s state vice-president Edmund K Sangma filed his nomination for Raksamgre constituency where the BJP has fielded Jonathon Rabha as the party nominee.
Edmund tendered his resignation from the party on Tuesday and also marched off with the mandal and booth level committees of Raksamgre.
“Why did the BJP ignore potential winners and put up weak candidates when all along they were claiming winnability to be the factor in the selection of party candidates. They are trying to propagate the NPP agenda because on their own they cannot take on the Congress in this election,” claimed Edmund K Sangma.
Following in the footsteps of Edmund Sangma was another rebel BJP candidate, Chiang D Shira, who resigned from the party and filed his nomination as Independent candidate for North Tura constituency.
“I worked hard to strengthen the BJP base in North Tura constituency but the party refused to acknowledge my contribution. I am confident that as an Independent candidate I will be able to raise issues concerning my constituency which has faced discrimination when it came to development matters,” said Chiang D Shira.
He also accused the current Congress legislator, Noverfield R Marak, of trying to woo voters by distributing MLA schemes before the elections after having remained silent for five years.
Besides Sangma and Shira, another rebel, Rahinath Barchung, is fighting against the official BJP candidate, K C Boro, after being denied a party ticket in Tikrikilla.
Although the BJP has lost several of its aspiring candidates and leaders to the ticket controversy, those remaining in the party say otherwise. Former MLA and party candidate K C Boro claimed that a BJP surge is sweeping Meghalaya and Prime Minister Modi’s expected visit to Garo Hills will erase what little hold the Congress has in the region.
