SHILLONG, Nov 4: Congress leader and East Shillong MLA, Ampareen Lyngdoh on Thursday ruled out contesting the 2023 Assembly polls from any constituency other than the one she represents.
“We have a Congress MLA in Nongthymmai. Why would I leave East Shillong? I will continue to be its candidate,” she told The Shillong Times.
She was reacting to speculations that she would contest from Nongthymmai while her brother, RG Lyngdoh would be the party candidate from Laitumkhrah.
“If the people of my constituency feel that I deserve to file my nomination again in 2023, I will go to every doorstep and seek their mandate,” Lyngdoh said, reminding her critics of the goodwill her father, P.G. Marbaniang had enjoyed in the constituency.
“I am honoured that people are talking about RG and me and I am happy they want to see us as candidates in 2023,” she said.
Lyngdoh negated the possibility of “following the herd” and joining another party in the near future. “I prefer being in the opposition for a long time because a strong opposition is an important part of a democracy,” she said.
She admitted Congress is going through a bad phase in Meghalaya but that should not be a reason for leaving the party. “Where will be our credibility if we contest from this party one minute, from another the next minute and a third later?” she asked.
On speculations about her brother contesting the 2023 polls, she said: “RG Lyngdoh is a source of inspiration. He is a person of integrity and good judgment, whose advice can help our party immensely. Whether he enters electoral politics or not will be decided by the people.”
She said her brother returned to Congress not because he wanted to join active politics but because his inputs would be valuable for the party.
Lyngdoh said she and her brother do not want to rush things. “R.G. is recovering from illness and is trying to remain positive. We are happy that he is lending us support,” she added.
