Shillong, May 28: The United Democratic Party (UDP) today announced Vivanstone G Kharngap Kynta (more widely known as VGK Kynta) as its candidate for the Shillong Lok Sabha by-election.
The UDP had chosen a lawyer, Robertjune Kharjahrin (who was more famous for being a pressure group leader), in 2024 but that choice was disastrous as he secured just 4.29 per cent of the vote.
That has not caused the UDP to shy away from running another lawyer this time around and neither has Kynta’s derisory past comments about regional parties like the UDP.
In 2022, when he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Kynta had said: “I consider all the regional parties in the MDA (Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government) to be political parties swimming in small muddy ponds but, at the end of the day, we have to depend on the mother in the centre, which is run by the BJP.” He ate his words a few months later in April 2023 when he stepped down from the saffron party.
Kynta’s candidature was revealed at a programme held at the UDP office here, attended by party leaders and supporters.
Addressing reporters after the announcement, UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh said the party took nearly two-and-a-half months to finalise its candidate after assessing public sentiment and consulting within the party and regional allies.
“We wanted to ensure that the candidate we put up this time is not only the candidate of the UDP, but the candidate of the people of this constituency,” Lyngdoh said.
Responding to questions on why the party did not retain Kharjahrin, Lyngdoh said the decision was based on the prevailing political situation and the need to field the “best among all the candidates”.
Despite the blow of 2024, the UDP president said that the party bounced back the following year in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC and JHADC) elections.
“In the MDC elections, we secured five MDCs in the KHADC and three MDCs in the JHADC. People have realised and they have restored their trust in the UDP,” he said.
Lyngdoh maintained that the party remains committed to regionalism and said discussions with alliance partners, including Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP), were held over the last two months. While some parties may have taken their own decisions, he said the UDP could not delay its preparations further as the campaign process had to begin across constituencies.
The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of the Voice of the People’s Party’s (VPP’s) Ricky AJ Syngkon, the sitting MP, in February. The date of the by-poll has not been announced but it must be held six months after the seat becomes vacant. The National People’s Party (NPP) and VPP have both chosen academics as their candidates – DR Lyngdoh Nonglait and Batskhem Myrboh respectively – while the Congress Party, pending approval from its national headquarters, has gone with former MP Vincent Pala. The BJP has yet to announce a candidate.
