SHILLONG: Few would have grudged them a vacation—a getaway to serene places where the vocal chords could get some rest, the legs a much-deserved stretch and the soul some uplifting music. Among other such alluring possibilities, of course.
After all, electioneering can take a heavy toll of the mind and body.
But the Palas and Mukuls or the Jeminos and the Agathas for that matter, are not destined to have such good times. At least, not immediately.
While some contestants in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections in the state are planning to campaign for their respective political parties in other states where the elections are yet to be held, there are others who would rather continue to articulate the issues concerning the people of the state.
Former chief minister and Congress candidate for the Tura Lok Sabha seat Mukul Sangma said the elections were not yet over in many parts of the country and it is their responsibility to continue to reach out to the people.
He said that he would continue his work because elections will take place in different parts of the country, including Assam, and he will make himself available to do his part.
Vacation in the classical sense is also not on the mind of Agatha Sangma, the NPP candidate who was engaged in a tooth-and-nail fight with Mukul all these days to retain the now-vacant seat for the family, which has held a monopoly-like sway over it for long.
She has several things to consider and would assess her work, she said.
“I will also use the time to visit a few of the areas I had missed out during the campaigning,” she said.
UDP’s Jemino Mawthoh, who contested the polls as a common candidate of the MDA for the coveted Shillong seat, said he would raise the issues concerning the people of the state as the public have a right to know what happened on the ground during the elections.
Twenty four hours after the EVMs were locked away in the safe environs of strongrooms across the state, he said he is busy assessing his performance in the election.
Congress candidate from Shillong, Vincent Pala, said he would first fly off to New Delhi and make himself available to the party for any election duty that might be assigned to him.
He also said that he is making calculations on the percentage of votes and will make a final assessment of the possible outcome of the polls as soon as the figures come in from West Khasi Hills.
The answers to his calculations are, however, already there, but beyond his reach, inside the EVMs locked away in the strongrooms.
