Shillong: Despite having no Congress MLAs in Meghalaya, former MLA and Congress candidate from Mylliem, Ronnie V Lyngdoh, on Tuesday dismissed his opponents’ claims that the party was a “sinking ship”.
Lyngdoh is all set to contest the 2023 elections scheduled for February 27. Hundreds of supporters gathered to show their support as he filed his nominations on the final day.
Lashing out at his opponents, Lyngdoh asserted that the statement that Congress is a “sinking ship” is baseless and unjustified.
He pointed out that the BJP only rules in 12 states, while the Congress has a presence in all states of the country, so it was not right to label it as a ‘sinking ship’.
Lyngdoh further highlighted that, despite not having elected candidates in some areas, the party still exists in all parts of the country. He cited Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra as an example of how people have been accompanying him. “Those making such statements should ensure that they are justified,” Lyngdoh said.
The Mylliem Constituency candidate, Lyngdoh, has outlined his key objectives for the upcoming election: to provide good governance, combat corruption, create employment opportunities for the youth, ensure uninterrupted power supply to the state, and empower the women of the state, given that women make up half of the population in the matrilineal society.
When asked about his defeat in the 2018 elections, Lyngdoh attributed it to people being misled about the building bye-laws. He went on to say, “That was the only reason. Had it been for some other reasons, I wouldn’t have bounced back after one year of being defeated in the MLA by about 450 votes and won the MDC elections a year later by more than 2000 votes. This shows people still have confidence in me and in the party.”
Lyngdoh also called out the former MLA, Hamletson Dohling, for being a liar. Dohling recently left PDF to join NPP, and as a result, had to submit his resignation as Mylliem MLA.
“He (Dohling) did lie to the people and deceived them. He fooled them into thinking if Ronnie was re-elected, he will expand the jurisdiction of Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which obviously is not a fact,” stated Lyngdoh.
He also criticized Dohling’s decision to join the NPP, claiming that he had no principles and was only looking for greener pastures, rather than serving the people. Lyngdoh, however, remained loyal to the Congress party, citing its efforts to provide roads, water supply, education, and other facilities to improve tourism and the livelihood of the people in Mylliem.
The Congress candidate confidently declared that the party has done a great deal of work to improve the lives of the people, providing roads, water supply, education, and facilities to promote tourism.
He highlighted the Dairy Development Mission, which has enabled many young people to take up dairy farming, providing them with employment and generating revenue for the state. Syiem, who is also a member of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), expressed his determination to find ways to generate more revenue for the state if elected.
Pynthorumkhrah Congress candidate Pynshngain N Syiem, who is also a member of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), also filed his nomination papers.
Confident of winning this election, Syiem said that nothing worthwhile comes easy and he has to work very hard along with the people and his supporters.
Stating that the constituency does not have any development like proper roads, drains and insufficient water supply, sports infrastructure, among others, he said that the people will vote for him because they want developments not only in the constituency but the state as a whole.
“We need legislators who understand how to make policies, know the laws and regulations, as without them, the state cannot progress,” he added.
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When asked about the Congress party’s lack of MLAs at present, he maintained that the new entrants were competent and had the potential to win the upcoming election.
He reminded that the same was the case for the PDF party, with only him as the sitting MLA, and the NPP with only two, yet they secured many seats in the last election.
In response to the BJP’s statement that the Congress would secure very few seats this time, Syiem simply said that this would be proven on March 2.
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