SHILLONG:
Congress candidate and former chairman of the proscribed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) Champion R Sangma, on February 6, admitted that it will be difficult defeating sitting MLA Dr Mukul Sangma in Songsak.
Likening himself to the Biblical figure “Samson”, Champion said, “My opponents are strong; Dr Mukul is a great politician – I have to be like Samson, destroying the two strong pillars.”
Confident of winning despite the odds, the Congress candidate said Songsak is faced with many challenges in terms of development, prompting him to contest the elections.
“The response from the people and my supporters has been tremendous. Lack of development is the reason that pushed me into politics and, I have a responsibility towards the people,” he said.
“People see that I am the only one who can work for the people – as a village elder, as an NGO leader, as a social activist and as a teacher,” he added.
Songsak constituency is one of the high-profile constituencies as it will witness either the re-election or fall of sitting MLA and Opposition leader Dr Mukul Sangma.
Songsak has had its share of representatives from different political parties, with the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) winning the seat in 1972 and the byelection in 1975; the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1983, 1993, 1998, 2005 (byelection) and 2018; the Hill People’s Union (HPU) in 1988; the United Democratic Party in 2003; the Nationalist Congress Party in 2008 and the National People’s Party in 2013.
In the last elections, Dr Mukul Sangma won the seat on a Congress ticket but, in 2021, he defected to the All India Trinamool Congress.
Other than Mukul Sangma, Champion Sangma will be going up against Thomas N Marak of the BJP and Nihim D Shira of the NPP.