GUWAHATI: In the biggest upset of Lok Sabha elections in Northeast, sitting MP Agatha Sangma of the National People’s Party (NPP) lost in the Sangma family’s pet Tura seat in Meghalaya.
The Congress' Saleng A Sangma defeated Agatha, who is Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s sister, by 1,55,241 votes.
Saleng, who is an MLA, secured 3,83,919 votes as against 2,28,678 by Agatha.
The NPP rules Meghalaya and is an ally of the BJP. The NPP did not contest the two seats in Arunachal Pradesh and the BJP returned the favours by not contesting in the two seats in Meghalaya.
Except for two years from 1989-91, the Tura seat had been with the family of former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma since 1977. PA Sangma represented it several times, son Conrad once and daughter Agatha twice.
According to locals, the main reason why Agatha lost is the NPP’s tie-up with the BJP, viewed by many in the Christian-majority state as anti-Christians, in the polls. The alleged lack of Agatha’s visibility in the constituency, lack of development here and an anti-incumbency wave in the state are said to be the other factors.