TURA:
The battle lines are clearly being drawn for the prestigious Williamnagar constituency in East Garo Hills where two arch rivals- Deborah C Marak of the Congress and Marcuise Marak of the NPP — are fighting to snatch victory in a contest that also has the TMC and an Independent vying for similar votes.
But the momentum appears currently to be with the former Congress minister and legislator, Deborah Marak, who is hoping to cash in on the anti-incumbency of her NPP rival.
On January 25, the Congress candidate received a major boost when the top leadership of the regional United Democratic Party in East Garo Hills dropped in to announce their endorsement of her candidature.
Leading the UDP team was party leader Arun Marak, younger brother of former Songsak MLA Late Heltone N Marak.
Arun Marak was one of the aspirants for the UDP party ticket to contest this election from Williamnagar seat.
“He (Arun) and UDP supporters met me today to announce that they have decided not to contest from Williamnagar. Instead they have decided to support my candidature. I am grateful to all of them,” said Deborah Marak while speaking to The Meghalayan.
With one hurdle out of the way, the Congress candidate has to face the sitting NPP legislator Marcuise Marak as well as TMC’s Alphonsus Marak and Independent Rudraswar Ch Momin.
What changed the regional party to back the Congress candidate is a million dollar question, but party insiders say that the decision came from the UDP’s top brass in the state capital.
There is also apprehension that a division of votes amongst the opposition would only help consolidate the NPP vote and propel Marcuise Marak to victory which seems to have underlined the need to support one another.
The BJP has not announced any potential candidate to take on the NPP and the Congress, so far. Some of the saffron party’s core leaders like former candidate Santosh Marak have already ditched the party and joined the Congress.
Deborah is a three-term MLA from Williamnagar, while for NPP’s Marcuise Marak this is his second stint as a legislator.
She faced defeat after her first stint as a legislator at the hands of Independent candidate Projend D Sangma before returning to power in the late 1990s.
As for Marcuise Marak, he won against Deborah as the NCP candidate under P A Sangma in 2008 but lost the subsequent election in 2013, once again to Deborah.