From C K Nayak
NEW DELHI: Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Celestine Lyngdoh on Thursday exuded confidence that the Congress, despite losing the last assembly polls, will win both the Lok Sabha seats in the state this time.
Talking to The Shillong Times at Meghalaya House here, Lyngdoh said with Mukul Sangma contesting the Tura seat, Congress will wrest it from NPP after a very long time. “This time Tura Lok Sabha seat will also be ours,” he said.
All the top leaders of the party, who were here for the AICC screening committee meeting, left on Thursday. The MPCC president stayed back for the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of the party slated for Friday. The CEC is expected to put the formal stamp of approval on the nominations for the two Lok Sabha seats.
On the Shillong seat, Lyngdoh seemed optimistic when he said that the sitting MP, Vincent H Pala, will not only retain it, but also win by a much bigger margin. He also summarily dismissed fears over the common candidates of the ruling MDA in both Tura and Shillong.
“We all know their inherent contractions which will bring them down sooner rather than later,” Lyngdoh said. “The leading alliance party NPP has not cut its umbilical cord with the communal BJP, which is still part of the MDA coalition,” he said.
The BJP is putting up candidate not only in Shillong against the so-called common MDA nominee, but also against the NPP. The NPP on its part has gone one step further by deciding to field candidates in all the Northeastern states where the BJP is either in power alone or in alliance, he added.
The Shillong MP came out victorious even when there was a serious anti-Congress wave all over the country in 2014, Lyngdoh said adding Pala will repeat his performance with a bigger margin. Mukul, known to be the strongman of Garo hills, will also win, he asserted.