Not just in Assam, Congress got a jolt in neighbouring Meghalaya as well on Thursday with National People's Party (NPP) candidate Conrad K Sangma winning the Tura Lok Sabha byelection.
He won with a huge margin of 1.92 lakhs, clearly indicating that the Congress has lost its ground in the Garo hills.
Conrad, a former state finance minister, is the youngest son of Purno Agitok Sangma, whose death in March necessitated the byelection.
Initially, during the campaign, the Congess was upbeat as 22 of the 24 MLAs in the Garo Hills are from the party.
But the picture became clear right from the very first trends, with the NPP well ahead in 23 of the constituencies. When Conrad arrived at the counting centre, he was greeted with a traditional kotip (headgear), milam (sword) and sepi (shield).
He was seen emotionally charged as he hugged his mother, his sister Agatha who is a former union minister, and his wife Mehtab Chandee.
Conrad dedicated the victory to his father and thanked all likeminded parties, including BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for supporting his candidature.
"I have won because people have voted for my father. It is a befitting tribute to my father, who was loved and respected by the people of Garo hills for his contribution," Conrad said.
When pointed out that there will be a vacancy in the union council of ministers when Sarbananda Sonowal becomes the chief minister of Assam, he said, "It is the Prime Minister's prerogative, my goal and objective is to work for the people in whatever capacity I can."
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