Category: SHILLONG

Four out of the five deceased have been identified as Merina Sangma, Sabina Marak, Kukila Momin and Tesa Sangma. The identity of the fifth woman who died on the spot is yet to be ascertained.

Music is synonymous with the mountainous state of Meghalaya and keeping this in mind, efforts are being made to effectively motivate the voters through music so that they exercise their franchise, leading to a high turnout in the February 27 election to the 60-member state Assembly.

In all 13 political parties including four having a national status -- the BJP, Congress, NPP and the Trinamool Congress -- are contesting the election with a total of 375 candidates including 36 female nominees in the fray.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday criticised the National People's Party (NPP), alleging that the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government headed by the NPP is involved in corruption, and Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma has been doing family politics.

The Election Commission has seized drugs, cash, and freebies worth over Rs 147 crore in Tripura, where Assembly elections were held on Thursday, and Nagaland and Meghalaya, which will go to the polls on February 27, officials said.

If voted to power, the BJP will form separate task forces to probe corruption cases and curb illegal mining in Meghalaya, besides solving the border disputes with Assam and implementing the recommendations of the seventh Pay Commission for state government employees.

The Rajya Sabha MP also stressed that education, health, employment, and road infrastructure are the basic requirements of people and they have been deprived of these under the current regime.

A fresh political war erupted on Tuesday between two former allies- ruling National People's Party (NPP) and the BJP, in Meghalaya after a piece of paper with the BJP's letterhead claimed that the saffron camp has warned the people against celebrating Valentine's Day.

Congress Media Department Chairman Pawan Khera told reporters that the Conrad Sangma-led NPP government has looted the people of Meghalaya and the state has missed major development in the last five years.

BJP President J.P. Nadda will release election manifestos for poll-bound Nagaland and Meghalaya on his two-day visit to the states starting February 14, the party's media head Anil Baluni said on Monday.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) issue through not vociferously highlighted in the ongoing campaign in three election bound states -- Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya -- remains active in the entire northeast region even after over three years of passing the law and the on-off agitations against it.

He said that for the past many years, women voters outnumbered their male counterparts in the electoral list, and in the previous elections, the turnout of female electorates was higher than the male voters.

As many as 379 candidates, including 37 women, have filed their nominations for the February 27 elections to the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly, state Chief Electoral Officer F.R. Kharkongor said on Tuesday.

Ahead of the Assembly elections in three northeastern states - Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, political parties are divided over the Union Budget 2023 even as trade and industry bodies predict that the northeastern region would gain substantially from it.

Shifting of loyalty continued in Meghalaya ahead of the February 27 assembly elections, as former Assembly Speaker and candidate of ruling National People's Party (NPP), Martin M Danggo joined the BJP.

According to the notification, the last date of filing of nominations in both states is February 7 and the scrutiny of papers and relevant documents would be done the next day. The last date of withdrawal of the candidatures is February 10.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress had won 21 seats in the 60-member Assembly, but subsequently all its legislators joined other parties, including the Trinamool Congress and the ruling National People's Party.

Security along the international borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar will be further tightened in view of the upcoming Assembly elections in the three northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, officials said on Wednesday.

The erstwhile princely states of Tripura and Manipur were merged into the Indian Union in October 1949 and became full-fledged states on January 21, 1972. Meghalaya was part of Assam before becoming a full-fledged state on the same day.

Election officials said on Friday that to conduct the election, freely, fairly, fearlessly and inducement free, six types of observers have been appointed from among the in-service and retired IAS, IPS, IRS and other Central government officials.

While Sawkmie would be inducted into the HSPDP at a later date, but the four others joined the United Democratic Party (UDP) in the presence of their supporters during a function held at the party office here on Wednesday.

This election in two of the three northeastern states - Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland will prove to be a litmus test for Trinamool Congress (TMC), headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Voters living in the areas along the disputed border with Assam will be allowed to cast their votes in the upcoming Assembly elections in Meghalaya, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said here on Friday.

In poll-bound Meghalaya, the Trinamool Congress has already earned the negative sobriquet of being called a 'Bengali party'. This could possibly have a negative connotation in a state that witnesses frequent riots and anti-outsiders violence over parochial issues.

Weeks before the announcement of the Assembly election schedule by the Election Commission, central armed police forces (CAPF) have started arriving in three poll-bound states of Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya, officials said on Monday.