SHILLONG: The election for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Meghalaya will not require a poll, as National People’s Party (NPP) leader James P.K. Sangma is set to be elected unopposed to the Upper House of Parliament.
The absence of any rival candidate clearly highlights the political strength and numerical majority of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coalition within the State Legislative Assembly, reducing the scheduled election to a mere formality.
On Tuesday, the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Secretariat completed the formal scrutiny of nomination papers and found the candidature of James P.K. Sangma to be completely valid and in order.
Elaborating on the situation, the Chief Electoral Officer of the state, B.D.R. Tiwari, clarified that actual voting will not take place since only a single candidate’s papers were received and cleared during the scrutiny held on June 9. He added that following the expiration of the official deadline for the withdrawal of candidatures on June 11, the Returning Officer will formally hand over the certificate of election to the uncontested candidate.
James P.K. Sangma, contesting as the consensus nominee of the ruling MDA, filed his nomination papers on June 8. The scrutiny of these documents was conducted by the Returning Officer, who also serves as the Secretary of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, Malthus S. Sangma, who confirmed that all submissions were accurate and strictly adhered to the prescribed procedures.
Speaking after the successful verification process, James P.K. Sangma stated that the officials from the returning officer’s team thoroughly verified all the documents submitted during the filing, and with everything being in perfect order, the nomination safely crossed the scrutiny stage. In the absolute absence of any opposing candidate, June 11 will serve as the final step when Sangma will be officially declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.
