Dr Mehtab Chandee scripts a historic win in Gambegre, demolishes Congress bastion

Dr Mehtab Chandee wins with a margin of over 4500 votes

She polled 12,678 votes, the highest for a candidate in the history of the constituency

Shillong, Nov 23: Dr Mehtab Chandee A. Sangma, the wife of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, has created history by breaching the Congress fortress in Gambegre and winning the seat by a huge margin of over 4500 votes. To be exact, it is 4594 votes.

That margin is not the biggest in the history of the state but it is a big number when compared to National People’s Party (NPP) performance in the past. In the 2023 assembly elections, NPP was not even the runner up. In 2023, Congress won the seat with the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) second the second spot.

Congress’ Saleng A. Sangma has been an absolute heavyweight in the constituency, winning the seat three consecutive times, since it was created ahead of the 2013 assembly elections. Although Saleng has been MLA for 4 consecutive times, but the first time was from Dalamgiri constituency, which was later merged into Gambegre.

After winning the seat in 2023, he had to vacate it after winning the Tura Lok Sabha election earlier this year.

But what makes Dr Mehtab Chandee’s win more remarkable is that this is her first time foraying into the electoral politics. On the other hand, she went against seasoned politician like Sadhiarani M. Sangma of AITC (or TMC), who has previously contested the seat two times unsuccessfully. She is also a sitting MDC in GHADC. Her husband, Zenith Sangma, is a former State Minister and brother of currently Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Dr. Mukul M Sangma.

Another politician in the fray was Bernard N Marak of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who is also a sitting MDC in GHADC. He had also unsuccessfully contested the 2023 Assembly elections from South Tura, against Conrad Sangma and had secured the second spot.

Jingjang M Marak of Congress, at third position in Saturday’s results, was also touted as a strong contender due to him being the close aide of Saleng A. Sangma. Also, the seat being a Congress stronghold was in his favour.

There were many factors against Dr Mehtab Chandee, who by every definition is a novice in electoral politics, having only followed her husband Conrad K. Sangma in his campaigns so far. Yet, she overcame all odds and campaigned aggressively and tirelessly, well supported by her husband to emerge as the winner of the ‘pride seat’ of Gambegre.

It is also worth mentioning that just about 6 months back, she was not even in the race for the party’s ticket for the seat. Yet, she was thrown into the ring as NPP’s team rightly read the mood of the people, who wanted a fresh face to represent them. And she truly emerged as the dark horse.

Her performance has been nothing short of stellar, securing 12,678 votes in her favour. For the record, this is the highest number of votes a candidate has received in the constituency, so far. In 2013, Saleng Sangma polled 7260 votes, in 2018 he polled 7291, and in 2013 he polled 11,252.

For Sadhiarani M. Sangma, this is the third time in a row that she has been unsuccessful. After losing to Saleng for the two times, hopes were high that she may claim the seat as there were no ‘strong’ candidates against her this time. She also had the experience of fighting the elections twice in the constituency, understanding the people and the area much better. This time, she polled 8084, which is lower than the 8381 votes she secured in 2023 polls.

With this win, the NPP has further solidified its strength in the Meghalaya Assembly, where it already has a clear majority. This win takes their number to 32 seats in the 60-member house.

Final Result:
Dr Mehtab Chandee A Sangma (NPP) – 12,678
Sadhiarani M. Sangma (AITC) – 8084
Jingjang M Marak (Congress) – 7695
Bernard N Marak (BJP) – 710
Jerry A Sangma (Independent) – 706
Sengkrabirth M Marak (Independent) – 147
NOTA – 95
Total votes polled: 30,086

Read: Gambegre bye-poll: Dr Chandee knocks at the door of a historic win with lead of over 3800 votes

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“People have voted for change and for development”: Dr. Mehtab Chandee after winning Gambegre seat