The central leadership of the BJP is likely to announce the names of its Lok Sabha election candidates from Meghalaya and other North East states in the second list which is likely to be released soon.
It may be mentioned that the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates yesterday. The list include 51 candidates in Uttar Pradesh, 24 in Madhya Pradesh, 15 each in Gujarat and Rajasthan, 20 for West Bengal, 12 in Kerala, 11 each in Assam, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, nine in Telangana, five in Delhi, two in Jammu and Kashmir, two in Arunachal Pradesh, one each in Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Daman and Diu.
Except Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the list of BJP candidates from Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Sikkim is yet to be announced. In Tripura which has two Lok Sabha seats, the BJP has declared the name of only one candidate.
“The names of candidates for Meghalaya are likely to be included in the second list,” sources from the BJP said today.
In Meghalaya which has two Lok Sabha seats, the BJP has three aspirants for party ticket.
While cabinet minister Alexander L. Hek has expressed his keenness to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Shillong seat. The other ticket contenders are former State BJP president Ernest Mawrie and lawyer Fenella Lyngdoh Nonglait.
BJP Shillong South MLA Sanbor Shullai has backed the candidature of Nonglait. Recently, he had talks with both Hek and Mawrie and requested them to support her as the party candidate.
From Tura seat, the BJP has three ticket aspirants who include party MDC Bernard Marak, Thomas Marak and Boston Marak.
Meanwhile, the Congress is yet to officially approve the name of its candidates from Meghalaya.
Although the party is likely to renominate sitting MP Vincent Pala from Shillong seat, party MLA Saleng Sangma has applied to contest from Tura seat.
However, with the Trinamool Congress demanding to be given the Tura seat, the Congress high command is yet to decide whether to cede to the demand of the Trinamool Congress. Both the parties are part of the INDIA bloc.
Trinamool Congress’ argument is that it had a better chance in Garo Hills region since it had polled 28 per cent votes during the last Assembly elections while Congress had got only 9 per cent.
