Cong to field 20% women candidates in Meghalaya assembly polls

Shillong, Dec 29 Meghalaya unit Congress president Vincent H. Pala on Thursday said the party would put up around 20 per cent women candidates, and approximately 60 per cent fresh faces in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Pala, a Lok Sabha member from the Shillong parliamentary constituency, said the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee has finalised the first list of 40 candidates out of 60 seats, adding that remaining 20 candidates would be finalised soon.

He said the names included in the first list would be sent to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for approval.

Pala said that party observers would visit Khasi & Jaintia Hills, and Garo Hills to identify the best probable candidates out of the multiple aspirants vying for the party tickets.

He said that the names of 40 candidates finalised includes 14 out of the 24 seats in Garo hills and 26 candidates out of the 36 seats in Khasi and Jaintia Hills.

The Meghalaya state Congress chief made an appeal to the people to give the party a chance by giving it absolute majority for stability of Meghalaya and to take up issues of the people.

In the 2018 Assembly election, the Congress won 21 seats.

In November last year, former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma (2010-2018), along with 11 Congress MLAs, quit the Congress and joined the Trinamool Congress making the West Bengal-based party the main opposition party in Meghalaya.

On December 19, two more Congress legislators Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh and Mohendro Rapsang resigned from the Assembly and then joined the ruling National People's Party (NPP).

According to the Meghalaya assembly record, there are three Congress MLAs in the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly.

Sources said that these three legislators are also likely to join other parties.

The Congress had earlier suspended five party MLAs for their closeness with the NPP leadership, specially Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma.

Meghalaya, along with Nagaland and Tripura, are slated to go for polls in February.