Adokgre, March 15: For well over thirty long years Adokgre village was the talisman for Garo Hills’ political stalwart Purno A Sangma, as he embarked on the campaign trail, and it never failed to charm him as he would go on to triumph every time.
This quiet village dotted with paddy fields and nestled in the Kharkutta block of North Garo Hills, would come alive once every five years to welcome the senior Sangma on his arrival for the launch of his campaign.
Strong indeed was his faith in the campaign beginning from Adokgre that P A Sangma would go on to call it “Chenanggre” or the place of victory.
Today, his daughter Agatha K Sangma is emulating the father’s footsteps as she began her campaign from the very podium her father stood upon for successive election campaigns.
Accompanied by her mother and P A Sangma’s widow Soradini K Sangma, her two brothers, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and James K Sangma, and her husband Dr Patrick Marak, Agatha recalled the advice given by her late father.
“My father always reminded us that the role and duty of an MP is to safeguard and fight for the demands of the people of his or her constituency. As an MP I have always given my wholehearted dedication in putting forward the peoples’ interests before the government, but in the last term it is a fact that we have not received enough MP schemes from the centre,” she clarified.
Agatha said that despite the insufficient MP schemes allotted by the centre, she was able to construct as many as 30 community halls, 90 mortar bridges and 118 cc footpaths, playgrounds and improvement of government and private schools through her MP scheme, among several schemes and projects.
Mentioning about her participation in Parliament, Agatha said that she repeatedly raised the demand for getting the Garo and Khasi language in the 8th Schedule of the constitution and the raising of salaries of the Anganwadi workers in the country.
Lending support to his sister in the campaign, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma reminded the significance of Adokgre from his father’s time.
“Be it MP, MLA or MDC elections, our father P A Sangma always began his campaign from Adokgre because he believed in victory and hence the name of Chenanggre. It used to start from a small rostom in the field, and today we stand before you from a stadium fulfilling our leader’s dreams,” said Conrad Sangma.
He said that Meghalaya in general, and Garo Hills in particular, has witnessed a mass transformation in the last six years.
“Earlier, if roads were good then the belief was that the area belonged to Assam, while bad roads indicated Garo Hills. That is no longer the case,” said the chief minister.
Seeking votes in favour of Agatha, the chief minister asked, “Today the daughter of P A Sangma stands before you seeking your support. We cannot forget Late P A Sangma.”
He said that this election is important for NPP and expressed confidence the margin of victory will surpass that of the 1.90 lakh victory margin bestowed on him when he contested the by-poll following the death of P A Sangma in 2016.
“I am confident we will have the biggest margin of victory in this election which will be nothing short of 2.50 lakh or even 3 lakh margin,” a confident Conrad Sangma announced.
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