More trouble for Sangma: Namesake

For political parties in Meghalaya — barring the BJP — defeating former Lok Sabha Speaker and rebel NCP leader Purno A. Sangma has...

For political parties in Meghalaya — barring the BJP — defeating former Lok Sabha Speaker and rebel NCP leader Purno A. Sangma has become a political obsession.

While electoral strategies to humble the Garo hills strongman are being tossed about, what takes the cake is Minister Billykid Sangma’s suggestion to field Sangma’s namesake as Tura NCP candidate.

The suggestion came on March 2 when former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi was at Tura Congress Bhavan to discuss poll strategies for the elections. The discussion revolved around how to defeat Sangma. As party members threw up suggestions, Billykid suggested setting up Predictson A. Sangma (P.A. Sangma) as the NCP candidate. While most burst into peels of laughter, some, including Jogi, appeared to quite like the idea. ‘‘Yeh to sochne ki baat hai (The idea is worth considering),’’ said Jogi.

Predictson is a former Congress worker and a Tura-based businessman. Billykid’s election strategy seems to be to confuse the voters and erode NCP rebel Sangma’s votebank. Speaking to The Indian Express, Billykid said he’s going to submit his proposal formally to Meghalaya Pradesh Congress president S.C. Marak soon.

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