NONGPOH:
The Ri Bhoi District Congress Committee (RBDCC) welcomed Rona Khymdeit, PW Pnar, S Mallai and other leaders of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the party’s fold, at the district Indoor Sports Auditorium Hall, on March 31.
Charles Marngar, RBDCC president, said, “Khymdeit is the first lady to contest from the Congress in the Nongpoh constituency. She knows how to serve the people of her constituency and that is a blessing to accentuate our ranks.”
Speaking on the occasion, Khymdeit said, “I won the 2014 MDC election and was hopeful of winning the MLA election in 2018. I understood then that Congress is the winning party in the Nongpoh constituency. This time I am happy to join the winning team,” she added.
Khymdeit further stated that she decided to contest and win to serve the people in the constituency after the sitting MLA declared he will not contest from the Congress. She, however, didn’t divulge the reason for making the switchover from the UDP. “I leave the UDP for a reason. That said, I am not comfortable sharing the reason here,” she said.
Echoing her sentiments, both Pnar and Mallai said that they decided to join the party to serve the people, adding, “Only the Congress can take care of the ordinary people.”
The ceremony was attended by Vincent Pala, president of Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) and PN Syiem, working president of the MPCC, along with Ronnie V Lyngdoh, to name a few.
Pala said, “People criticised our party, but the fact is that none can challenge the Congress because we have the most hard-working leaders. That said, we have to work hard to win the 2023 Assembly elections to prove our critics wrong and to fight against this government.”
He also blamed the government highlighting issues such as price rise and illegal coal trade. “The border MoU is misleading and is an election propaganda by the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance-led government,” he said.