Voice of the People Party (VPP) Ricky Andrew J Syngkon and Congress Saleng A Sangma were elected to the Lok Sabha from Meghalaya, defeating the state’s two sitting Lok Sabha members from Shillong and Tura constituencies, respectively.
Syngkon, who won the Shillong seat, secured 5, 71,078 votes and defeated three-time Congress MP Vincent H Pala by 371,910 votes. Pala polled 199,168 votes, followed by state cabinet minister Ampareen Lyngdoh of the ruling National Peoples’ Party, who got 186,488 votes.
NPP leads the state’s ruling coalition, Meghalaya Democratic Alliance 2.0, backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
It was a stomping win in Tura for Saleng, who secured 383,919 ousting incumbent MP Agatha K Sangma of the ruling National People’s Party who secured 228,678 votes. Trinamool Congress candidate and former minister Zenith M Sangma stood third.
The Congress’s Tura victory is considered significant because the seat is considered to be a bastion of the ruling NPP. Agatha is the sister of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
Conrad congratulated the two winners. ”We humbly accept and respect the mandate of the people and wish Mr Saleng A Sangma and Mr Ricky Andrew J Syngkon the very best” he wrote on X.
