Trinamool Congress (TMC) Meghalaya Parliamentary Party leader and Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Mukul Sangma, indicated that the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections are expected to take place next year, following the usual five-year term. “One year from now, we should be having GHADC election. Last time we had in the month of April. So by April next year, we should be expecting the election if we are looking at the usual five years term,” he stated. Sangma added that the political landscape is evolving, and the coming months will reveal how things unfold.
Addressing the outcome of the recent Lok Sabha elections, Sangma dismissed the notion of a Congress wave, asserting that the political dynamics at the time were driven by a strong public desire for change. “You know, the sole intention of the people of Garo Hills was then during the time of MP election to ensure that the people are able to get rid of or rather dislocate the continuity of the earlier regime.”
He emphasized that voters were determined to remove the incumbent MP, Agatha Sangma, as they believed the ruling party had failed to deliver on its commitments. “That was the sole intention, come what may, but let us prioritize this as number one priority. Replace the sitting MP, replace the sitting MP belonging to a political party which is in the government and which has failed to demonstrate their true commitment towards the welfare of the people, the lip service notwithstanding, but the actions were just opposite.”
Sangma described the election results as a manifestation of the people’s will for political transformation. “So therefore, the result of the people, you could see, you know, you could see the wave. The wave is a result of the whole in-depth complicacies which is associated with politics, which revolves around the result of the people to see that, okay, there must be a change.”
Highlighting the end of a political legacy in Garo Hills, he noted that a single family had held influence in the region’s electoral politics since 1977. “You will remember since 1977, irrespective of which different political parties they’ve contested from, the same family, they have been somehow getting elected, re-elected again and again. So people wanted to put an end to that. That is the outcome.”
Leaving room for interpretation, Sangma concluded, “Okay, okay, so I will not comment further. You have to read between the lines, okay?”