Shillong, March 3 : In a jolt to the ruling Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA), Congress candidate Stanlywiss Rymbai defeated his United Democratic Party (UDP) rival George B. Lyngdoh in the byelection to Umroi constituency, the result of which was declared today.

The UDP, which had won the seat in the Assembly polls last year, could not cash in on the sympathy wave following the death of sitting legislator and former chief minister E.K. Mawlong on October 18 last year.

Rymbai, who lost the seat to Mawlong last year by 965 votes, defeated his son by 450 votes in the bypoll. Rymbai secured 11,766 votes, while Lyngdoh got 11,316. Hill State Peoples’ Democratic Party (HSPDP) candidate Erwin Sutnga got 601 votes and Independent candidate Phrina Warjri got 207 votes.

The victory is a boost to the Congress as it raises the party’s tally from 25 to 26 in the 60-member House. The Congress-led Opposition, Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA), also has the support of an Independent.

The Congress, which is preparing for the Lok Sabha elections to retain the Shillong seat, sees the victory as a positive development after having lost all the four seats, including Umroi in Ri Bhoi, in the just-concluded district council elections.

The victory has also improved the image of former chief minister and Congress Legislature Party leader D.D. Lapang, whose leadership had been questioned following the debacle as Lapang is from Ri Bhoi. 

The veteran leader today said he was happy that the people of Umroi had reposed faith in the Congress.

The party is just waiting for a chance to return to power in the state with like-minded parties and Independents.

A senior Congress legislator said the party would now try its best to get back to power. 

“We are the single largest party with 26 members and like-minded parties are welcome to work with us,” he added. 

The AICC secretary in-charge of Meghalaya, Maj. (retd) Ved Prakash, had earlier said the Congress was ready to form the next government with the support of like-minded parties and Independents as the MPA had failed to deliver the goods.

To thwart the attempt of the Congress to form an alternative government, the UDP had roped in Independent Limison Sangma two days before the byelection, raising its tally to 33. Sangma was earlier supporting the Congress-led MUA. 

Senior UDP leader and Speaker Bindo Lanong ruled out any threat to the ruling alliance with its present strength. 

The UDP, however, admitted that the defeat was a setback and alleged that money power had played a major role in the bypoll’s outcome. 

Lanong said though there was evidence that the Congress had distributed money in Umroi, the MPA leadership, especially the UDP, had not taken the matter seriously. 

“I had told the chief minister and the UDP leaders that effective steps should be taken to check the trend of the Congress using money power, but no one listened to me,” he said, adding that the party’s election strategy should have been different for Umroi.

After the defeat, Lyngdoh said, “I accept the defeat, satisfied with the services rendered to the people. This is also a bitter lesson for the educated youths who wanted to come up as leaders in state politics.”

A jubilant Rymbai said victory was a foregone conclusion for him even while he was campaigning for the bypoll.

“I will work for the development of Umroi in the days to come,” he added.