Sitting MP Vincent H. Pala retained the Shillong Lok Sabha seat for the third consecutive time while the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) retained the Tura LS seat.
Former union minister Pala is also the sitting Congress MP from the Shillong parliamentary constituency.
After counting of votes, Pala was declared the winner from Shillong Lok Sabha constituency while NPP candidate and former union minister Agatha K. Sangma was declared the winner of the Tura LS seat.
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Pala got elected from Shillong for the first time in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
He retained the seat for the third time this year amid setback to the Congress which could not stop the BJP-led NDA from bouncing back to power for the second time in this year’s Lok Sabha polls.
Pala polled 4,19,689 votes and defeated his nearest opponent Jemino Mawthoh of the United Democratic Party (UDP) by a huge margin of 1,52,433 votes.
Mawthoh, who was supported by various political parties including the NPP which is leading the MDA government, got 2,67,256 votes.
The other candidates from Shillong include Sanbor Shullai of the BJP who polled 76,683 votes, and three Independents – THS Bonney got 6,580 votes, Romeo Phira Rani got 4,961 votes, while Samuel Hashah got 4,601 votes, and 4,420 voters pressed the NOTA button in the EVMs.
Voting to both Shillong and Tura Lok Sabha seats and bye election to Selsella Assembly constituency was held simultaneously on April 11, the results of which were declared on Thursday.
Agatha K Sangma won a margin of 63,775 votes from Tura. She polled 3,04,455 votes, while Congress candidate and former Chief Minister, Dr Mukul Sangma got 2,40,425 votes. BJP candidate Rikman Garrey Momin got 31,707 votes.
The Congress has not won from Tura Lok Sabha constituency after former Lok Sabha Speaker, late Purno Agitok Sangma left the Congress. The last time the Congress won from Tura through late Purno Agitok Sangma was in 1998 Lok Sabha polls.
Agatha’s victory has also established that no other candidates could defeat the Sangma family from Tura so far.
