Conrad Sangma says NPP will win both bypolls in Meghalaya, claims Congress is nowhere in the fight

Shillong: A day before the declaration of results of two Assembly bypolls in the state, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who is a candidate from South Tura constituency, exuded confidence on Sunday that the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) will win both the seats. By-elections to South Tura and Ranikor assembly seats were held on 23 August. Sangma, who was sworn in as chief minister in March, has to get elected to the Assembly to continue in office. His sister Agatha Sangma resigned from South Tura in July to pave way for him to contest the election. [caption id=“attachment_5048471” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma. Team 101Reporters[/caption] The Ranikor bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Congress leader Martin M Danggo from the seat. Danggo switched over to the NPP from the Congress after the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, led by Sangma, upgraded the Ranikor administrative unit into a civil sub-division. He is hoping to retain the constituency for the sixth consecutive time. “I am confident that the people of South Tura and Ranikor have reposed their faith on NPP. Our performance speaks for itself,” the chief minister said. Taking a dig at the Congress, which fielded debutants Charlotte W Momin from South Tura and Jackiush Sangma from Ranikor, the chief minister said the results will reflect the “kind of situation the party is going through” at present. “If you look carefully at the entire election process, whether in South Tura or Ranikor, the Congress is nowhere in the fight,” he said. Asked about United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate from Ranikor, Pius Marwein, the chief minister said political equations in the ruling dispensation will not change as the UDP is a constituent of the NPP-led coalition in the state. “Whether the UDP wins or the NPP, it will still be a victory of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance and we are happy about that. This is the beauty of democracy,” he added.