Campaigning has come to a close for the Gambegre assembly by-election in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district, setting the stage for a closely contested race with six candidates in the fray.
Senior BJP legislator and Cabinet Minister AL Hek expressed confidence in his party’s performance, saying, “I have attended the campaigning in Gambegre marathonly. I have seen that wherever I have attended meetings, the ground was always full so by looking at how people were attending the political meetings of BJP, we can say the party is in the race.”
Hek emphasized that BJP is contesting independently without any alliance with the ruling National People’s Party (NPP). “Here there is no question of fighting together, we are contesting separately,” he clarified. Regarding the strength of the competitors, he added, “I see all the contesting political parties are very strong.”
When questioned about BJP’s candidate in Gambegre, Bernard Marak, who faces five criminal charges, Hek responded, “The case is going on, the matter is in court but anybody is innocent until proven guilty.”
The bypoll to the Gambegre assembly constituency was necessitated after its MLA Saleng A Sangma won the Lok Sabha elections and vacated the seat.
The NPP, led by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, has fielded Dr. Mehtab Chandee A Sangma, Sangma’s wife and the NPP’s National President, as its candidate. Meanwhile, the opposition TMC has nominated Sadiarani M. Sangma, sister-in-law of former Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma and wife of ex-Cabinet Minister Zenith Sangma. The race also includes Jingjang Marak (Congress), Bernard Marak (BJP), and Independent candidates Sengkrabirth Marak and Jerry Sangma.
The Gambegre constituency comprises an electorate of 32,254 voters, including 16,331 males, 15,923 females, 3 service voters, 64 senior citizens, and 100 persons with disabilities (PwDs). According to the State Election Department, 31 out of 51 polling stations in the constituency are classified as critical, with none designated as vulnerable.
The results of the Gambegre by-election will be declared on November 23.