Shillong, June 4: The people of Meghalaya have clearly expressed their mandate and sent a strong message to the ruling political parties through their votes, as both opposition parties have secured victories in the two parliamentary constituency seats.
In Shillong, the Voice of the People Party (VPP) made history by defeating the incumbent Congress MP, Vincent Pala, by a landslide margin of over 370,000 votes, securing a staggering 568,000 votes.
In Tura, Congress candidate Saleng A. Sangma ended the 47-year dynasty built by the late P.A. Sangma, defeating his only daughter and incumbent MP, Agatha K. Sangma. Saleng secured over 383,919 votes, while Agatha managed only 228,678 votes, resulting in Saleng’s victory by over 150,000 votes.
A total of 2,226,567 registered voters participated in the elections in Meghalaya, with an approximate turnout of 1,642,761 votes their cast on April 19, 2024.
In the Shillong Lok Sabha constituency, there were a total of 1,400,411 registered voters for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. VPP’s Dr. Ricky Andrew Syngkon alone received over 568,000 votes, while Pala, who had been elected for four consecutive terms, secured just over 197,000 votes.
Pala had secured 419,689 votes, accounting for 53.52% of the total votes in the last Lok Sabha election in 2019. However, this record was surpassed by VPP candidate Dr. Ricky Syngkon, who garnered over 568,313 votes, capturing approximately 58% of the vote share in 2024.
The key factor in VPP’s success in Shillong-1 is the anti-incumbency sentiment prevailing among the electorate. Ardent M Basaiawmoit, the president of VPP, has pledged to continue the fight against corruption, favoritism, nepotism, and poverty, which resonated with the voters of Shillong-1 and was reflected in the election results.
Meanwhile, in Tura-2, the National People’s Party (NPP) suffered a significant setback due to its alliance with the BJP. The slogan “One vote for Agatha is one vote for Modi” played a crucial role in swaying the voters of Garo Hills towards Saleng A. Sangma of the Indian National Congress.
While the MP election has shown that the people of the Khasi region have not embraced the National People’s Party, the question remains whether the NPP will bounce back stronger after this defeat in Garo Hills.
NPP President and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has conveyed his congratulatory message to the two winning candidates: Saleng A Sangma of Congress from Tura and Dr. Ricky A J Syngkon of the VPP from Shillong. Sangma posted his message on his official social media account,”We humbly accept and respect the mandate of the people and wish Mr Saleng A Sangma and Mr Ricky Andrew J Syngkon the very best”.
We humbly accept and respect the mandate of the people and wish Mr Saleng A Sangma and Mr Ricky Andrew J Syngkon the very best.
— Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) June 4, 2024
Read: Saleng on verge of scripting history in Garo Hills, margin of victory crosses 1.2 lakh votes
WATCH:
Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.
Also, Follow us on-
Twitter-twitter.com/nemediahub
Youtube channel- www.youtube.com/@NortheastMediaHub2020
Instagram- www.instagram.com/ne_media_hub
