SHILLONG:
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state president and Gambegre legislator Saleng A Sangma said he would write his own fate in the 2023 Assembly polls.
“I will write my own fate. I don’t want anybody to write my fate. If people do not like me, they will not vote for me. If people like my work, it is their wish. You can’t force anybody. I don’t want to buy any vote nor do I want to give any booze to any voter. If they like me they will vote for me, if they don’t like let them not vote for me,” Sangma said when asked about his fate as the lone legislator of the party.
Sangma said he could not tell whether he would be in the NCP or NPP. ” I am the NCP president right now, so I don’t want to betray the party, but how many people will come and join NCP I don’t know yet as I don’t have that capacity to ask somebody to join and fight from my party. When I look at the crowd I get scared because I have to start spending money especially for those whom I will be putting up as candidates,” he said.
He said people will not vote for money adding NCP is ready to field candidates in all the 60 seats.
“Perception towards the candidates and perception towards the future should be changed, not the candidate. People should change then only they will get good candidates in the future,” he said.
“If I am buying the vote it is not people’s choice but my choice. It should be the public choice then only KSU, GSU, FKJGP will not start shouting in the streets. When you are doing good for the people they themselves will vote for you. For example, 20 per cent of Meghalayans may not vote for money or may be 50 per cent, but even 20 per cent who vote for money makes you irritated – you feel you have bought them – these are the areas which need to be corrected,” he asserted.
Stating that people do not need money to vote, Sangma said there is need to educate the voters to ensure intellectuals and good people will come out to be leaders of Meghalaya.
On whether the NCP is keen to contest the upcoming Assembly polls, Sangma said that earlier there used to be a lot of NCP in the North East region but after winning the elections everybody left the party.
“So how will they trust and how will they be serious about it. It is like they are making an investment so that they can make some kind of a future in the NE but since everybody has betrayed them how are they supposed to gain trust.
“I don’t want to blame them also, they might have been serious. They put up around 6-7 candidates even in Manipur but none of them won,” he said.