Shillong, Aug 4: National People’s Party (NPP) leader and cabinet minister Marcuise N Marak has asserted the party’s increased support in Garo Hills due to “development activities taking place in the region”, ahead of the elections to Garo Hills Autonomo+us District Council (GHADC) next year.
Claiming the party’s significant progress in Garo Hills under the leadership of chief minister Conrad K Sangma, he said, “Under the leadership of Conrad K Sangma, much has been done in Garo Hills apart from the rest of the state. People are for the NPP as they have seen the (development) activities taking place in Garo Hills.”
He said the party would carefully select the candidates for district council elections, ensuring that they are trustworthy and capable of representing the party’s values.
Promising that the party would work hard to convince people, he said, “If we need to strengthen the district council in Garo Hills, we have to work very hard and we have to go to the people to convince them that this is the party where you can put your trust.”
Asked if the ongoing GHADC crisis would not affect the party in the election, the NPP state working president admitted the challenges ahead particularly due to “legacy issues” created by previous executive committees.
However, he expressed confidence that the party will be able to address these issues and work towards strengthening the GHADC.
Marak informed that the party would shortly constitute an election committee, which will oversee the selection of candidates.
Regional committee meetings and district-level meetings are being held to identify potential candidates, he said.
The regional committee will play a crucial role in guiding the party’s election strategy and candidate selection process, he added.
He informed that the name of Sengbath R Marak was among a few already nominated for the party tickets for GHADC elections.
“We have unanimously supported the nomination made by the block president R Sangma, who has proposed Sengbath R Marak’s name,” he said while stating that this initiative was to push other constituencies to take positive steps to decide the party candidates at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Marak has downplayed speculation about a potential cabinet reshuffle, stating that it is ultimately up to chief minister Conrad K Sangma to decide.
“As a state working president of the party I will be happy wherever I am put to work,” he said.
Asked on the recent meeting between the chief minister and MLAs from Garo Hills, Marak said each MLA had presented their activities and implementation of schemes.
He, however, made it clear that the meeting was not related to the cabinet reshuffle speculation but rather an exercise to hold MLAs accountable and align with the chief minister’s vision for the state.
