Breaking all records in the history of Shillong parliamentary seat, Voice of the People Party (VPP) candidate, Ricky A J Syngkon defeated sitting MP, Vincent Pala of the Congress by a thumping margin of 3.7 lakh votes.
Political novice Syngkon secured 5,71,078 votes while Pala, a three-time MP, came second with 1,99,168 votes.
The candidate of the ruling NPP Ampareen Lyngdoh polled 1,86,488 while Robertjune Kharjahrin of the UDP bagged 44,563 votes.
Independent candidate Lakhon Kma managed to secure 18,582.
Interestingly, Peter Shallam, another independent candidate, was defeated by NOTA. Shallam got only 7024 votes while NOTA got 11,008 votes. 646 votes were rejected.
This is the first time in the history of Meghalaya’s electoral politics that a candidate secured the highest margin of votes in a Lok Sabha poll.
The VPP, a new entrant in the State political arena, has charted a meteoric rise since its birth before the 2023 Assembly elections when it won four seats.
The party has drawn the maximum attendance in most of its election rallies in the run up to the Lok Sabha election for Shillong seat on April 19.
Syngkon pledged to fight corruption and poverty and attributed his win to the voters, saying they empowered him. “My victory today aligns with our expectations. We approached the people with a commitment to combat corruption and poverty. We are prepared to redouble our efforts to ensure our objectives are achieved,” he said.
Speaking to media persons, Syngkon, who is also general secretary of the VPP, attributed his victory to the people’s desire for change.
“People want change and today’s result was the longing of the people (for that change). So we look forward to fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of the people of the State,” he said.
Syngkon also informed that he is committed towards the VPP’s vision to revive, restore and transform Meghalaya.
“We have a 24-point manifesto. As a party we would be sitting together and we would work out on a priority basis. So which of those issues will be taken up, we will let you know once the party sits and takes a decision,” he said.
He said that the party will very soon decide on the alliance partners in Delhi.
