Tura: AITC candidate Sadhiarani M Sangma filed her nomination for the upcoming by-election to the Gambegre seat before the Returning Officer (RO) in Tura on Wednesday.
She was accompanied by her husband, Zenith Sangma, former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, and a large group of supporters.
With Sadhiarani’s filing, the total number of candidates who have submitted their nominations for the Gambegre by-election has reached three. Independent candidate Jerry Marak also filed his nomination on the same day.
After filing her papers, Sadhiarani, who is also a sitting MDC, expressed confidence in her chances of winning despite the challenges her party faces. She acknowledged her primary competition as NPP’s Mehtab Chandee Sangma, the wife of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.
“I am confident because the people of Gambegre love me, they will never leave me and will vote for me. The NPP is trying their best but misusing government machinery. Majority of the people in Gambegre are poor and the NPP is taking advantage of their poverty. They are distributing CGI sheets, money in a desperate attempt to win votes,” said Sadhiarani after her nomination.
This is Sadhiarani’s third attempt at the seat, having lost a close battle to Saleng Sangma in 2018 and facing an easier defeat in 2023. However, she believes this time the contest is only between her and the NPP, as most Congress leaders in the region are backing her.
“The contest is not with Saleng and the Congress but with the NPP,” she added.
Speaking on the challenges faced by the people of Gambegre, Sadhiarani emphasized that road connectivity is the most pressing issue. She promised to prioritize road development if elected, as nearly 50% of the constituency lacks basic road infrastructure, severely impacting residents, including farmers and emergency service users.
“If I am elected I will definitely work on road connectivity. Further, the majority of the people of the constituency are poor and need support with their livelihoods. I will ensure support to them if elected. I have been to most houses in the constituency. There are many more issues that Gambegre faces and needs to be tackled,” she added.
As of now, Congress’ Jingjang Marak and the NPP are expected to file their nominations tomorrow. BJP’s Bernard Marak and two other independent candidates are also likely to enter the race soon, setting the stage for a closely contested by-election.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, who also addressed the media, expressed his confidence in Sadhiarani’s chances of winning. He cited the strong support for their candidate and a growing public desire to unseat the incumbent NPP-BJP government.
“I have seen the love of the people for our candidate. The overall desire of the people is also palpable in the narrative of the entire state. There is a desire to unseat the present incumbent government – the NPP – BJP combine. The government has camouflaged itself to take people for a ride and have engaged in blatant irregularities all over,” said Mukul.
He also pointed to growing frustration among the youth due to a lack of job opportunities, both in the government and private sectors. “Over the years have you seen creation of new jobs? How many, who have completed their education and are waiting for years are sitting idle? Forget about news jobs, even for the existing jobs, the government of the day has deprived the people of these jobs,” Mukul shared.
Taking a swipe at Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Mukul criticized a statement allegedly made by Conrad during his campaign, where he implied that voters would only get MLA schemes if they voted for the ruling party.
“The CM said that people should vote for the ruling party or they would only be getting MLA schemes instead of development. What does this mean? Does he not understand the responsibility of a CM? Right to equal opportunity is a fundamental right. Can he stop such schemes from reaching the people? What about JJM and MGNREGA? JJM is being shoddily done but it is a guaranteed scheme for the people. Can he stop this,” Mukul questioned.
“State government has no schemes for the people. It is because the state has money, they are not even filling the vacancies that have been created. The government now is borrowing from everywhere – the open market, banks and everywhere they can to make ends meet,” the former CM said as he cited the CAG report which stated that Meghalaya’s debt burden was ‘scary’.
The AITC leader expressed confidence in his party’s chances of winning the upcoming by-election.
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