Shillong, May 28: The Lok Sabha candidate of the United Democratic Party from Shillong Parliamentary constituency in Meghalaya, Jemino Mawthoh, who was defeated by sitting Lok Sabha member, Vincent H. Pala by a margin of 1,52,433 votes today refused to accept media report that the Congress candidate has won with a thumping majority.
Addressing media persons at the Shillong Press Club, Dr Mawthoh who was the common candidate of the ruling collation, National People’s-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance Government, said that it was a fact that the Congress had polled 4,18,689 votes, equivalent to 53 per cent; while the United Democratic Party candidate Jemino Mawthoh polled 2,67,433 votes equivalent to 34.35 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
He, however, reiterated that it was a moral victory to the regional parties because in the 2014 Lok Sabha election their vote share was only 17 percent and in 2019, the vote share of the regional parties made a quantum jump of 34.35 percent.
Dr Jemino also said his defeat could be attributed to a number factors including money power, religion, Citizenship Amendment Bill, Regional Alliance and others due to lack of time for the regional parties to dispel all these misconceptions propagated by the Congress, as the regional parties could have only one month to prepare for the election.
He said the innocent people of the state have been misled by the Congress relating to CAB, ban on cow slaughter and religious freedom and the regional parties could not dispel all these apprehensions due to lack of time, despite the best of efforts made by all the regional parties.
He said it was during the Prime Ministership of late Indira Gandhi that the Congress wanted to ban the cow slaughter in the country. “It was this same party that passed a resolution relating to the CAB. It was in 1987 that the Congress wanted to embrace the Hindu communities by amending the CAB.
But this Lok Sabha election they played down these issues. He termed the Congress of playing a “double standard” and the innocent have been made to believe, which upset the result of the Lok Sabha Election particularly for the Shillong Parliamentary Constituency. Mawthoh, said the regional parties are at the dilemma because if they align with the Congress, they would be termed as “Congress “B” and aligning with Meghalaya Democratic Alliance have been branded as “BJP”.
Whatever be the outcome, Mawthoh said the greatest danger is the Congress, which bagged with only 52 Lok Sabha seats; while the strength of the regional parties in Meghalaya has gone from 17 percent of the vote share in the Lok Sabha election-2014, which went to 34 percent of the vote share in the Lok Sabha election-2019.
When pointed that the victory of the Congress candidate, Vincent H. Pala depended on the distribution of his MP scheme, Mawthoh said people should understand that the national parties have their own ideologies and people should be support their regional parties, which will live up regional aspirations.
“Now is an era of coalition politics, except this Lok Sabha election, where the electorate gave a clear mandate to the BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi. “The Government at the Centre look favourable to the regional parties” Mawthoh said, adding that Prime Minister Modi in a Mission Mode with regional aspiration to bring faster development in the country.
