Cong say vote bank not to be affected by BJP joining the fray

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMarch 26, 2019

SHILLONG: The opposition Congress today said the decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to contest from the two parliamentary seats – Shillong and Tura in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will not affect the ‘vote bank’ of the party.

“The vote bank of the Congress will always remain. We have our own vote bank and it does not mean because the BJP has come the non-tribal votes will move it is not like that…rather there are more people who have come in,” Congress spokesperson Himalaya Shangpliang told reporters on Tuesday.

Referring to the statement made BJP candidate from Shillong seat Sanbor Shullai on the regional parties working with the saffron party, Shangpliang said, “We can understand that this is all a gimmick as it doesn’t matter whether the NPP comes or the BJP comes.”

He said the BJP candidate had mentioned clearly that only during elections they fight with each other but after the elections they are all “bhai bhai”.

Asked, the Congress leader said the former chief minister, Mukul Sangma is doing well day by day and the votes of the Congress are increasing in Garo Hills region.

He said Mukul was escorted by over a thousand of people while filing his nomination papers and this gives the party a lot of confident and inspiration to win the seat.

Stating that many MDCs of the NPP and senior leaders of the BJP have joined the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Shangpliang said, “I am happy to inform you that personality like Edmund Sangma and Santosh Marak who are big wigs in the BJP have joined the Congress party and I am sure there will be a good turn around this time.”

He further informed that all the Garo Hills based MLAs have already strategizing their own works for the elections. “In fact some of us are leaving for Tura to help in canvasing and some have already gone and come back and again they are going back next week,” he said while adding the campaigning is going on very well.

Earlier, the Congress MLAs from the Khasi and Jaintia Hills region have also met to discuss the poll preparation and campaigning for the sitting MP Vincent H Pala, who is seeking re-election to retain the Shillong seat.

The meeting was attended by Pala and Rajya Sabha MP Wansuk Syiem.

“We are all geared up for the coming elections… all the MLAs are together. We are all here to show solidarity and to take up our respective responsibilities to fight the elections and I am sure will come out victorious,” Shangpliang said.

He also denied media reports which alleged that the MLAs had refrained from accompanying Pala during the filing of his nomination papers and said, “Since only 4 members were allowed in the DC’s room, Pala wanted that MLAs need not come (along with him) so that is why there was no insistence to the MLAs to escort the party candidate.”

Meanwhile, the Congress spokesman informed that party national president Rahul Gandhi will be one among the star campaigners for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state.

“The list of star campaigners have gone to the All India Congress Committee and may be by today or tomorrow we will get the approval,” Shangpliang said while informing that Priyanka Gandhi is also likely to campaign for Mukul and Vincent.