Meghalaya: Congress announces second list, to contest all 60 Assembly seats

While all the five candidates declared Saturday are fresh faces, the candidate from Kharkutta, Chireng Peter Marak, is Tura NPP MP Agatha Sangma’s brother-in-law. He had resigned from the NPP and joined the Congress only this month.

After 12 out of 17 Congress MLAs switched over to the Trinamool Congress in 2021 and the remaining five deserted it for other parties in the run-up to the elections, the party — which was the largest Opposition party in the Assembly before November 2021— was set to enter the polls without a single sitting MLA. However, the lone Nationalist Congress Party MLA, Saleng Sangma, switched over to the Congress last week, and he has been fielded by the party from the Gambegre constituency which was declared in the first list.

The BJP, however, is yet to declare its candidates. Meghalaya BJP president Ernest Mawrie said they are awaiting the approval of the central parliamentary committee of the party.

“While we have requested that they announce it (the list) immediately, we are expecting it on January 31. Whether it is declared now or three days later doesn’t make a difference because we are very strong organisationally,” he said.

The polls for the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly will be conducted in a single phase on February 27. The counting of votes will be held on March 2.