Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang on Sunday attributed the low voter turnout in the state in Lok Sabha polls to the less importance people attached to parliamentary elections compared to the assembly ones.
"We are yet to create an awareness among the people that Lok Sabha election is as important as the Assembly ones," Lapang told reporters.
It was evident from the low voter turnout of about 54 per cent in the state for the April 20 hustings, he said.
The Chief Minister's statement assumed significance as the campaigning particularly in the Shillong Lok Sabha seat was quite a lacklustre affair which gained some momentum only before the polling day.
Denying that his party Congress was trying to avoid the media in the run-up to the elections, Lapang said the reason for party candidate P R Kyndiah's not meeting the press before the polls was best known to Kyndiah himself. "Perhaps he (Kyndiah) was over-loaded with other work."
The chief minister also admitted that some of his partymen did not have the conception of the importance of interacting with the media. He said Congress however did never "restrict" the candidate to the press.
{{/usCountry}}The chief minister also admitted that some of his partymen did not have the conception of the importance of interacting with the media. He said Congress however did never "restrict" the candidate to the press.
{{/usCountry}}Member of the dissolved Lok Sabha, Kyndiah, whose "performance" in the last two terms was not satisfactory to many quarters, drew flak for not meeting the press and not circulating the party manifesto to the media before the polls.