Meghalaya Election Result: CM's brother James Sangma loses to TMC's Rupa Marak
Meghalaya Election Dadenggre Assembly Result 2023: James Sangma had bagged this seat in the 2018 elections by polling 35% votes.
James Pangsang K Sangma - a three-time National People's Party (NPP) MLA from Dadenggre and the elder brother of Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma - lost to Trinamool Congress’s Rupa M Marak in the Dadenggre constituency by a slim margin of just 7 votes in the 2023 assembly election on Thursday. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC opened its account in the state after emerging as a key challenger to the ruling NPP in this year’s poll after drawing a blank in the 2018 assembly election. Early trends had put the TMC in the lead in eight seats.
James holds various portfolios in the NPP-led government, including home, law, power, district council affairs, food civil supplies and consumer affairs. In the 2018 Meghalaya state assembly election, James had bagged this seat polling a total of 27,746 (35.38%) votes. Earlier on Thursday, he visited the grave of his father and former CM PA Sangma in Tura along with incumbent CM Conrad, mother Soradini, and sister Agatha.
Dadenggre is an assembly constituency in the West Garo Hills district.
The other candidates in the fray were BJP’s Braining R Marak, Congress’s Chesterfield Sangma and Republican Party of India (Athawale)’s Witjeng N Sangma.
The NPP in Meghalaya has so far bagged four seats, and is leading in 21 other constituencies, the Election Commission said on Thursday as the counting of votes was underway. The NPP candidates Coming One Ymbon and Sniawbhalang Dhar won from Raliang and Nartiang seats respectively by margins of 5,337 and 2,123 votes.
Also Read: Meghalaya election result, winner list 2023: List of leading, trailing candidates
The UDP was ahead in nine constituencies, while the BJP and the Trinamool Congress were ahead in five seats each, and the Congress and the Voice of the People Party (VPP) were leading in four seats each.
CM Conrad was leading in the South Tura seat by a margin of 508 votes, while Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma of the TMC was leading from the Songsak seat by a mere 77 votes over NPP's ND Shira.
(With inputs from ANI)