Mokokchung, 8 April (MTNews): The Rising People’s Party (RPP) today claimed that the surge of support for the Congress candidate, S Supongmeren Jamir, is shifting momentum away from the expected victory of the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA), leaving the latter palpably nervous.
The RPP said in a press statement that, since the PDA has exhausted all its options in securing victory, resorting to cash-for-votes is perhaps the only option left for the PDA in order to win this election. The RPP also claimed that there are reports that “massive amounts of money are being handed over to all their 40 MLAs to buy votes at any cost” because of their “do-or-die situation.”
The RPP then alleged that there is hardly any checking of vehicles/choppers by Election Commission of India (ECI) officials and demanded the Commission to explain its “failure to uphold its constitutional obligation.”
“Giving credence to such speculations, it’s observed that there’s hardly any checking of vehicles/choppers by ECI officials and the fact that the Congress’ accounts have been frozen, the absence of checking means that any amount of cash can be easily transferred. The RPP demands that the ECI explain its failure to uphold its constitutional obligation.”
The RPP claimed the “wave” in support of Supongmeren Jamir, positioned against the 60 MLAs, as “unprecedented.”
“In what should have been a walk-over election for the PDA given that it secured more than 95% of the votes cast in the 2023 general election, the Congress has the momentum now,” it said.
Citing a hypothetical scenario, the RPP said, “If state elections were held along presidential lines – American style – today for the post of chief minister, Mr. Neiphiu Rio would be swept away in a landslide, such is the desperation of the people for change.”
The RPP went on to say that the nervousness in the PDA camp is palpable.
“Firstly, the PDA back-stabbed the ENPO demand for FNT. After this double-cross, the PDA maneuvered ENLU and ENGOA to convince ENPO to participate in the election which backfired miserably. To top the humiliation Mr. Chingwang Konyak, the President of NDPP was summoned to appear before the Konyak Union within 48 hours. It seems the PDA government has been trapped in its own cleverness,” the RPP said.
