Meghalaya by-polls : 67 per cent turnout till 3 pm
Guwahati, Aug 23 (IBNS) : Amid a tight security, voting is underway for the by-elections to the South Tura and Ranikor assembly constituencies in Meghalaya.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Meghalaya Frederick Kharkongor informed that about 67 per cent votes were cast in the first four hours.
In South Tura, around 65.5 per cent turnout was recorded while 69 pe rcent votes were cast in Ranikor assembly constituency.
The by-election to the South Tura constituency will decide the fate of Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, also the chief of Meghalaya’s ruling party National Peoples’ Party (NPP). The constituency falls under West Garo Hills district.
Sangma is pitted against Congress’s Charlotte W Momin besides Chris Kabul A Sangma and John Leslee K Sangma-both independent candidates.
The by-poll to South Tura constituency has been necessitated following the resignation of NPP legislator Agatha Sangma. She resigned to enable Conrad K Sangma, her brother, to get elected to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and continue as Chief Minister.
Sangma, the son of former Lok Sabha Speaker and Chief Minister Purno Sangma, assumed the office of Chief Minister despite being not an elected member to the Assembly. According to the constitution, he needs to get elected to the Assembly within a period of six months, which expires on September six.
After casting his vote, Sangma said he is confident of winning the by-poll.
"I am very confident to win this election. Every election is tough. We are confident that, the people of Tura will repose their faith in NPP. All coalition partners also supported us," he said.
The by-poll to Ranikor assembly constituency in South West Khasi Hills district has been necessitated as it fell vacant after five-time Congress MLA Martin M Danggo resigned from the assembly on June 21.
In Ranikor, NPP’s Martin M Danggo fights United Democratic Party (UDP)’s Pius Marwein, People's Democratic Front (PDF)’s PN Syiem and Congress’s Jackiush Sangma.
The South Tura constituency has around 30,230 voters spread across 36 polling stations, while the Ranikor assembly constituency has 65 polling stations with around 29,685 voters.
(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
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