United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate Jemino Mawthoh and Independent candidate Samuel Hahshah filed their nominations for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat on Wednesday.
The two Lok Sabha seats in Meghalaya – Shillong and Tura – will go to polls on April 11.
Mawthoh, the former Meghalaya legislator of the UDP, is supported by parties that formed the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is also part of the National People’s Party-led MDA government, will field its own candidates from both the parliamentary constituencies.
Mawthoh said that he would fight on the strength of the MDA government be it on the realms of development, and safety and security of indigenous people without infringing on the rights of other communities.
He also exuded confidence that he would win as parties in the MDA government have come together in this election, and the vote share of the UDP along with the NPP and other parties is more than the vote share of the Congress.
He also said that the BJP and Congress are doing the same on the Citizenship Amendment Bill and cow slaughter issue.
Mawthoh said that the Congress has gone down in the last Lok Sabha elections getting just 44 seats, and the MDA government was trying to clear all the debris left by the previous Congress government.
Hahshah, a kick-boxer by profession, is contesting the Lok Sabha election as an Independent candidate.
Hahshah highlighted poor development in rural areas and lack of focus on the youth especially in the field of sports and lack of facilities and infrastructure, besides problems faced by people along the inter-state and international border.