Intensive campaigning as NPP targets Mawthadraishan
Shillong: NPP national vice-president Sniawbhalang Dhar on Sunday urged voters in Mawthadraishan to give 90 per cent of their votes to the party’s candidate, Dr DRL Nonglait, saying a strong showing there would set an example for the other 36 assembly constituencies in the Shillong parliamentary by-election.
Dhar, campaigning at Lawbyrtun, said he has taken part in more than 1,800 election meetings across the State and claimed he had not encountered criticism of Dr Nonglait during these interactions. He described the current mobilisation as a concerted push involving party leaders and workers.
- Meetings: Dhar said the party is organising 30–40 meetings a day across the 36 constituencies.
- Groundwork: He named himself, party president Prestone Tynsong and the Chief Minister as personally active in campaigning, along with MLAs, block presidents and MDCs.
- Local shift: Dhar asserted that voters who did not previously support the NPP were now indicating support for Dr Nonglait.
Pointing to changes he said were visible on the ground, Dhar cited Bynther as an example, saying the party had received only 9–10 votes there in the previous election but that about 200 people had now held a meeting backing Dr Nonglait. He also recalled the earlier poor showing in Lawbyrtun, where the NPP had secured only 96 votes, and urged workers and voters to learn from past mistakes.
"Till date I have attended more than 1,800 meetings. Not a single meeting has said Nonglait is not fit. Even new people are saying the NPP has fielded a very good candidate this time," Dhar said.
Dhar contrasted voting behaviour in different regions, saying that voters in the Jaintia Hills ‘think before voting’ and citing the presence of seven MLAs from that area who are, he said, mostly aligned with the ruling side. He framed development allocation as linked to electoral support, telling listeners that greater votes from a region translate into more development for that region.
Development works and cross-party projects
Listing infrastructure projects he said were being pursued by the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government, Dhar emphasised that development work was not limited by party affiliation. He cited road projects as examples:
| Project | Amount (as stated) |
|---|---|
| Weiloi–Balat–Ranikor road | ₹600 crore |
| Nongstoin–Maweit–Nongjri road | ₹380 crore plus ₹100 crore (last year) |
He noted that the Weiloi–Balat–Ranikor road fell in a UDP constituency but said the government was proceeding with the work regardless of party lines.
Campaign claims and implications for Shillong voters
Dhar’s remarks underline the NPP leadership’s emphasis on aggressive constituency-level mobilisation ahead of the Shillong bypoll. The party’s claim of widespread support for Dr Nonglait and the assertion that previously non-NPP areas are shifting toward the candidate, if borne out by polling, could affect seat-level calculations across Shillong’s 36 assembly segments.
For voters, Dhar’s linking of development allocation to electoral support is a clear appeal to local interests: he told the audience that areas delivering higher vote shares could expect larger shares of development. The party’s focus on high-frequency meetings and visible leaders on the ground signals an attempt to consolidate votes in closely contested pockets such as Mawthadraishan, Lawbyrtun and Bynther.
The claims in Dhar’s address were made during public campaigning events; figures such as meeting attendance, prior vote counts and project costs were presented by him during those sessions.
As campaigning intensifies across Shillong, all parties are expected to continue public outreach and tout development works ahead of polling, while voters and observers will watch whether ground-level assertions translate into shifts in vote share on polling day.
