TURA: Ampati is set to witness a triangular contest between the Congress, NPP and a lone Independent who filed his nomination before the returning officer on the last day of nominations at South West Garo Hills district headquarters-Ampati on Thursday.
Independent candidate Subhankar Koch was the only candidate to file his nomination papers on the last day.
With the close of nominations, the spotlight will be on the two main contenders- Miani D Shira of the Congress and Clement Momin of the NPP.
While the Congress is hoping to halt the NPP wave in the Garo Hills, the latter is optimistic it can turn the tables on its bitter political rival in a constituency long known as a Congress bastion.
There is disappointment for the supporters of former BJP candidate Bakul Hajong who had been rooting for his party nomination to contest the polls.
The BJP decided against fielding a candidate and has lent its support to the common Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) candidate Clement Momin.
“We had a meeting of all the MDA partners in Shillong on Wednesday and decided to support the NPP candidate for the Ampati by-election,” said state BJP president Shibun Lyngdoh while speaking to The Shillong Times over phone from Shillong on Thursday evening.
Besides supporting the NPP candidate, BJP and other alliance partners are also planning to hold campaign rallies for their MDA candidate.
“We will be going to Ampati for campaigning in support of our MDA candidate Clement Momin,” informed Shibun Lyngdoh.
The top leadership of the NPP has recently stated that winning Ampati would be equivalent to taking the jewel in the crown after its recent victory in Williamnagar where the Congress was pushed to third position.
