The Congress has decided to forward the name of sitting MP Vincent H. Pala and party MLA Saleng Sangma to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Shillong parliamentary seat and Tura parliamentary seat respectively.
Sources said that the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has recommended the two names to Rana K P Singh, the chairman of the screening committee of All India Congress Committee (AICC) for North East region.
Singh and two other members of the screening committee Jaivardhan Singh and Ivan D’Souza met today at Rajiv Bhavan in Guwahati to screen the ticket applicants from states of the North East for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Congress sources said that Pala and Sangma were the only ticket applicants from the two parliamentary seats in Meghalaya.
Pala had won the Shillong seat thrice – in 2009, 2024 and 2019.
Sangma on the other hand will be trying his luck for the first time for the Lok Sabha poll.
He is currently the Congress MLA from Gambegre constituency in West Garo Hills.
Like Pala, Sangma has also won as MLA of Gambegre thrice. In 2013 he won as an independent while in 2018 he got elected on the NCP ticket. In 2023 he retained the seat on the Congress ticket.
However, the Congress which is engaged in discussion for seat sharing with allies in the INDIA bloc is likely to release the official list of candidates only after the announcement of poll dates by the Election Commission.
The BJP is planning to announce the first list of candidates in late January or early February.
Already, three political parties from Meghalaya have declared their candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The ruling NPP has decided to field cabinet minister Ampareen Lyngdoh from Shillong seat and sitting MP Agatha K. Sangma from Tura seat.
The UDP which is the ally of the NPP in the MDA government has nominated former HYC president Robertjune Kharjahrin for the Shillong seat.
The opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) has named its general secretary and NEHU teacher Ricky A J Syngkon as the candidate from Shillong seat.
