Shillong, Nov 13: In preparation for the by-election to the Shillong Lok Sabha seat, what is left of the United Democratic Party (UDP) has continued campaigning for its candidate VGK Kynta.
At a public meeting in Mairang, seat of local MLA and UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh, Kynta berated the 11 legislators who decamped for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and National People’s Party (NPP) in the past few weeks.
Speaking at the meeting, Kynta expressed his pride to have the opportunity to contest as a candidate from the oldest regional party in Meghalaya.
He also said that as a lawyer he had done a lot of work to protect the sovereignty, land and identity of the people. He appealed to electors to vote for him so that he can advocate for the indigenous people of the state and to show that he will not change his uniform like some have done for money, an obvious reference to the eight who defected to the BJP and three to the NPP.
“The claims of the legislators that they deserted the UDP for others for the benefits of the indigenous people does not have any basis since they were elected by the public and they should have resigned first as MLAs before jumping to another party,” Kynta said.
The BJP had literally swallowed the eight legislators even as he urged voters to leave the turn coats and vote for the regional party.
On the other hand, Lyngdoh, in his speech, said that the party has found the right candidate and expressed his confidence that the people of Mairang constituency will not make a mistake this time as it happened in 2024. That year the UDP candidate Robertjune Kharjahrin polled fewer than 5 percent of all votes cast in the Shillong seat, which was won by the Voice of the People Party’s Ricky AJ Syngkon in a landslide. The death of the latter in February necessitated the by-election.
Lyngdoh also warned the public not to be misled by rumours on social media, saying that some have paid money to spread lies. “This is a very dangerous trend and if the public make mistakes in electing their leaders this is the end for the indigenous people,” the UDP president said.
On his resignation as a cabinet minister following the mass defections and deciding to sit in the opposition, Lyngdoh said that he put the honour of Mairang constituency before himself.
“The people elected me to go to the Assembly as a representative of the UDP but I won’t be a turncoat. That’s what the people of my constituency told me to and I also respect their emotions,” Lyngdoh added.
The UDP president said that even though 11 MLAs who were elected on the UDP ticket deserted the party he won’t lose hope adding that it is now their duty to work hard and revive it. “I will work hard to see that in the coming years the UDP’s proudly flies high,” he assured attendees.
