Newly elected MLA from Gambegre constituency Mehtab Chandee A Sangma was sworn in today by Meghalaya legislative Assembly Speaker Thomas K. Sangma.
Mehtab, the wife of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma won the Gambegre Assembly by-election securing 12,678 votes.
The chief minister and other senior leaders of the NPP were present during the oath taking ceremony.
Speaking to reporters, Mehtab expressed her commitment to meeting the expectations of the people. “Politics is very demanding, and I hope to live up to the expectations of the people,” she said.
Reflecting on her recent time spent in the constituency, Mehtab said that Gambegre is slightly more backward compared to other areas in the Garo Hills emphasising her determination to address these pressing issues.
“Basic infrastructure such as healthcare, roads, and electricity needs immediate attention. I will take up these issues and matters related to the public,” she added.
Speaking about the underrepresentation of women in politics, she said, “Women’s participation in politics has always been limited, but as equal participants in society, we must come forward and engage more actively. I hope that by stepping into this role, I can inspire more women to participate in politics,” she said.
Meanwhile, the chief minister stated that the by-election was fought on development which the people of Gambegre have not seen for a long.
“If you have ever visited the interiors of Gambegre, you will see that it is one of the more under developed constituencies and I don’t blame anybody for it but these are the facts that I’m bringing forward and I guess the people desire to see a change. So there was a very strong feeling of wanting to see development coming to the constituency into the villages and people have voted for that development for the change,” he said.
He also acknowledged that more needs to be done and that the State government will do its best to ensure livelihood and infrastructure reaches the grassroot.
