SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has defeated his rival Bernard Marak of the Bharatiya Janata Party and won the South Tura constituency with whooping 10,090 votes, the Election Commission announced on Thursday, March 2.
The Election Commission announced the result after counting of ballots cast in the February 27 Assembly elections concluded.
Conrad Sangma expressed delight and thanked people for voting for his National People's Party (NPP). The National People's Party is leading in more than 26 seats out of 60 Assembly constituencies and is set to retain power in the hill state for a second consecutive term.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister's elder brother James Pangsang K. Sangma, and a 3-time NPP MLA, was defeated by Rupa M. Marak of the Trinamool Congress in the Dadenggre constituency by a narrow margin of just 18 votes. Marak managed to receive 15702 votes, while James Sangma got 15,684 votes.
The Meghalaya assembly elections have been closely watched, with several significant players vying for power. In spite of the setback in Dadenggre, Sangma's victory in South Tura is a significant boost for the National People's Party, which is hoping to form the government in the state for a second term.
Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha was re-elected from the Town Bordowali seat for the second consecutive time after defeating his nearest Congress opponent Ashish Kumar Saha by a margin of 1,257 votes. Manik Saha was earlier elected to the state Assembly in the by-poll held in June 2022 by defeating Ashish Kumar Saha with a margin of 6,104 votes.
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Counting of votes for Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland polls underway