SHILLONG, July 6: National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential candidate, Droupadi Murmu visited Meghalaya on Wednesday and sought the support of the MLAs.
Murmu was welcomed at the Umroi Airport by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh and state BJP leaders. She was accompanied by Union Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Pratima Bhoumik and BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra.
Later, she was escorted to Orchid Lake Resort in Umiam. She sought the support of the MLAs during an interaction with them. All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) legislator HM Shangpliang was among those who attended it.
Sangma tweeted, “Meghalaya extends its support to NDA’s Presidential Candidate, Draupadi Murmu Ji. As a tribal community, it will be our honour to offer our support to India’s 1st Indigenous Tribal Woman as our country’s President.”
BJP state president, Ernest Mawrie said, “We are happy as she is the first tribal woman going to hold the highest post in the country.”
He said she had stressed on the welfare of the women of the state and the country during the interaction.
The Congress and the AITC are opposed to the NDA candidate. So, when asked about Shangpliang’s participation in the interaction, Mawrie said he had requested all political parties to lend their support to her by voting for her as a tribal.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Cabinet Minister Sanbor Shullai said, “All the tribals in the country should be happy as this is for the first time that a tribal lady has been nominated to occupy the highest post. We extend all our support as a state.”
He appealed to all legislators in the state to vote for her.
Rajya Sabha member Dr WR Kharlukhi, who also attended the programme, said, “We are winning and the NDA is winning. We discussed how to go about it.”
The regional parties in the state’s ruling coalition have already extended their support to Murmu as she is a tribal candidate.
The BJP, which has two MLAs in the state, is a constituent of the ruling coalition. Five suspended Congress MLAs, who pledged their support to the state government, are likely to vote in Murmu’s favour. The Regional Democratic Alliance (RDA), which met here on Wednesday, decided to support her.
HSPDP president, KP Pangniang on Wednesday said the RDA decided to support Murmu as she is a tribal. The RDA also decided that the alliance would continue in future to serve the people of the state. HSPDP and UDP are RDA components.
The Congress and the AITC viewed Murmu’s candidature as another trick by the BJP to fool the country’s tribal populace. Murmu is visiting various states to garner support in her favour.
