Ronnie Lyngdoh, the Congress Party candidate for Mylliem, served up some choice words concerning his main rival, the incumbent MLA Hamletson Dohling.
Dohling, running this time on a National People’s Party (NPP) ticket, beat Lyngdoh in 2018 through the People’s Democratic Front.
This party hopping has not gone down well with Lyngdoh, who said that it shows that Dohling is lacking in principles. The former cabinet minister also described Dohling as a liar over a campaign promise five years ago regarding the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority.
Meanwhile, Lyngdoh, who filed his nomination papers here today, rejected the idea that the Congress is a spent force in the state and nationally.
Lashing out at his opponents, Lyngdoh said that there are only two national parties in the country – the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – and the Congress has a presence in all states in the country.
“Maybe now we don’t have elected representatives (in Meghalaya) but the party exists in all parts of the country,” he said. “I stuck with the Congress because I know that this is the only party that can deliver for the state and the people, in Mylliem in particular.”
Lyngdoh hit out at Dohling, saying that the latter goes only where the grass is greener for himself alone, not for the people. Asked what was the reason he lost in 2018, Lyngdoh said that the people were misled about the building by-laws.
“He (Dohling) lied to the people. He fooled them that if Ronnie is re-elected he will expand the jurisdiction of MUDA, which is not a fact. That was the only reason. Had it been for some other reasons, I wouldn’t have bounced back after one year being defeated in the MLA election by about 450 votes but then winning the MDC election a year later by more than 2,000 votes. This shows people still have confidence in me and in the party,” he said.
