Conrad Sangma hopes his party will win Ampati by-election

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today said his party, the NPP, will win the Ampati Assembly seat in the upcoming by-election, as the party's recent victory in Williamnagar will have an effect on it.

The National People's Party (NPP) candidate Marcuis Marak won the Williamnagar seat by a margin of nearly 5,000 votes in the by-election held on April 27.

The result was declared on May 1.

"That will definitely have an impact in the Ampati by-election scheduled to be held on May 28," Conrad K Sangma, who is also the NPP chief, told mediapersons here.

Polling for the Williamnagar seat was postponed following the death of NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma in an IED attack on February 18, days before the February 27 Assembly elections in the state.

"People wanted a change, the change has come and we want to take it to the next level," he said.

The Congress was in power in Meghalaya since 2003 and Conrad Sangma's the National People's Party (NPP) won 19 seats in the recently held Assembly polls and cobbled up a coalition government in the state with the support of other regional parties, the BJP and an Independent MLA.

The NPP chief also said that the party is likely to field Clement G Momin from the Assembly constituency.

The Ampati Assembly constituency was left vacant after the former chief minister Mukul Sangma contested and won from two seats - Ampati and Songsak in the February 27 elections.

He later resigned from Ampati.