Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam has met church leaders here in a bid to woo voters from the Christian community ahead of the 2018 Assembly polls in Meghalaya, where most of the people are Christians.
Kannanthanam, who was recently appointed as BJP's in-charge of election in Meghalaya, met Archbishop of Shillong Dominic Jala and a pastor from the Presbyterian Church soon after his arrival in the capital city on last night.
"I have met the Archbishop, the head of the Catholic Church and also a Presbyterian pastor. We want to connect very well with all the communities to know exactly what they want from us and what we can give them in return," Alphons said.
Speaking at the sidelines of a Swachh Bharat programme at Umprup village, about 25 km from here today, the union tourism minister said the party leaders would meet members of other communities of the state as well.
On the main concern expressed by church leaders during their meeting with him, Alphons said that corruption is a big concern.
"Look at the state of roads here. There is no infrastructure. Government employees are not even getting salaries. Your young people have to go outside to study. So we need a corruption-free government (and) that is the most fundamental thing," he said.
Stating that the main focus of the party is to provide opportunity to young people, Alphons said smart people are leaving the state because there is no opportunity here and the BJP wants to create an opportunity for them.
The union minister also visited Nongkrem - a village famous for its indigenous thanksgiving dance festival which attracts tourists from across the globe and met the Syiem (King) of Hima Khyrim tribe Dr Balajied Syiem.
He said the tourism ministry would help support efforts in promoting this place.
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