Esron Marwein, a resident of Umpling, president of the Butchers Association of Meghalaya and unsuccessful past electoral candidate, will contest the Nongthymmai seat in the upcoming Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) election as an independent, he announced today.
Marwein had most recently contested the Mawryngkneng’s Assembly seat in 2023 under the Congress Party banner and the 2021 by-election to the same constituency as an independent after he was not allowed to run on a Khun Hynñiewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) ticket.
A resident of Umpling, Marwein said that the district councils is being weakened because of Paragraph 12A of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which mandates that if a law or regulation made by a district council is in conflict with a law passed by the Meghalaya Assembly, the law made by the legislature will prevail.
At a press conference today, Marwein said that he will collaborate with other MDCs to eliminate Paragraph 12A. He stated that this paragraph undermines the effectiveness of the autonomous district councils.
“We have observed numerous instances, from boundary settlements with Assam to the issuance of mining licences, where the district council has had no power or say in the matters,” he said.
Marwein also pointed out that party affiliation in district council elections is irrelevant in the absence of anti-defection laws. Unlike in the Assembly or Parliament, MDCs are free to quit the parties they were elected on and defect to another.
