Tura, Oct 9: Kalpona D Sangma, president of the Garo National Council (GNC), has died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Dehradun on Thursday night. She had gone to Dehradun to witness the induction ceremony of her son in law into the Indian Forest Service when tragedy struck.
The widow of GNC supremo Clifford R Marak, she was the first woman to head the party- one of the oldest political outfits in Garo Hills and a long-time advocate of a separate Garo state.
The Garo National Council- a party that had been in existence even before Meghalaya state was created, had a firebrand politician Clifford R Marak as its president, under whom the party once dominated the political landscape of Garo Hills. Marak was the MLA from Chokpot constituency in South Garo Hills at the time of his death.
After his passing, the party leadership went to Kalpona, who steered the GNC to victory in several crucial MDC constituencies in the last two consecutive Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections. The results helped the party share power with the NPP in the council, and it held the Deputy Chief Executive Member post on both occasions.
