In a set back to Meghalaya Congress on Friday, party vice president John Filmore Kharshiing resigned from the party ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
“I have resigned from the primary membership of the Congress as there has been widespread appeal for a change as the incumbent Shillong Lok Sabha MP (Vincent H. Pala) has been there for the last 10 years. They want somebody to lead and take new initiatives,” he said.
Pala, 51, seeking a third straight term in the Lok Sabha, is pitted against United Democratic Party’s (UDP) Jemino Mawthoh, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Sanbor Shullai and three Independents — T.H.S. Bonney, Samuel Hashah and Romeo Phira Ranee.
“I am yet to decide who I will support but there have been communications from the UDP as well the BJP,” Kharshiing said.
Meghalaya has two Lok Sabha seats: Shillong and Tura. They will go to the polls on April 11.