SHILLONG:
United Democratic Party (UDP) general secretary Jemino Mawthoh on January 18 said that the decision to field Lambor Malngiang was a collective one by the party considering the winnability while not compromising on the quality of the candidate.
The Nongkrem seat was the talk of the town as there was a tug of war between veteran UDP leader Bindo Lanong and Malngiang. Following the announcement of candidates by the UDP on Wednesday, the ticket went to Malngiang who joined the UDP on the same day that his candidature was announced.
Earlier, in the day, he had tendered his resignation letter as an MLA.
Mawthoh added that selecting candidates is not easy and that the UDP has also done some kind of ground survey at the constituency level to solicit the views and opinions of the electorate to know the position of those aspiring candidates from the constituencies.
After getting the ground report the state election committee sat and deliberated and came up with the final selection.
“This is a decision which we had taken collectively. We have reiterated that this is not a decision of the president or the secretary but of the state election committee that comprises senior party leaders, district leaders from different constituencies. We have to think about the winnability and the number game but not compromising on the quality,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malngiang said he had given proper thought about joining the party and said a collective decision was taken with the people of his constituency and then decided to join the regional party.
“The party has decided the best, they have gone to the ground, and they have done a proper survey. I have been there for the people for more than 20 years and the people are also with me and on these accounts the party has decided to allot the party ticket to me,” he said.
It may be mentioned that Lanong was surprised when he learnt that the party is favouring a non-UDP member over a veteran member.
Earlier, the veteran UDP leader had often expressed his desire to contest as an independent candidate if he is denied the party ticket.