With three contenders up against her for the upcoming Assembly election, East Shillong MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh maintains that she is not feeling the pressure.
Lyngdoh has been suspended from the Congress Party since early this year. She is a three-time legislator, though, and does not anticipate too many hurdles to re-election as her work as an MLA speaks for herself.
“It’s not about how old or young you are. It’s your work that is going to speak for you. It is your entire aura or the kind of charisma that you bring forward in your work, your performance in the Assembly and in the constituency. So, whether old, young, middle age, very old, doesn’t really matter,” she said.
The former minister said that she will prove to her constituents that she has more experience and more teeth and, therefore, is the better choice. She also boasted of good things she has done for her constituency and even said that she has transformed East Shillong into something better.
“Let them come, let them try,” she said of opponents. “It’s always good to have an election rather than go uncontested. But, practically speaking, this time I feel a lot more at ease. Not so much under pressure and not so much on the radar. That’s how I look at election 2023.”
Asked when she would end speculation of which party she will join, Lyngdoh said an announcement could be made by mid-December once her “MLA assignments” are complete.
For the future of East Shillong in the next five years, Lyngdoh aims to bring the completion of the Laitumkhrah market and to start on the Malki market at the earliest.
Lyngdoh mentioned that the real issue in her constituency is to motivate the young people and guide them on the right path. She also plans to improve the mobile phone network since she feels that many areas in her constituency are still in a dark zone.
“I would also like to see that more individuals who are deserving get an opportunity for scholarships to go into professional courses. It could be the traditional professional courses, or it could be these self-training opportunities,” she said.
