When it rained Sangmas and Maraks in Meghalaya

As many as 70 Sangmas and 52 Maraks contested the 2018 Assembly elections.

National People’s Party’s Agatha Sangma (left) and James Sangma (centre), and Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma celebrate on March 3, 2018 their victory in the Assembly elections. Photos: PTI, Special Arrangement

It's been raining Sangmas and Maraks in the Meghalaya Assembly Elections. As many as 70 candidates with the Sangma surname and 52 candidates with the Marak surname contested the recently-concluded elections, and that too from just 28 constituencies of the State. The Meghalaya Assembly has 60 seats.

When it comes to strike rate, the Sangmas are far ahead of the Maraks, with 13 Sangmas have already won on March 3. In contrast, only three of the 52 Maraks have made it to the Assembly.

Lyngdohs and Momins were the other most repeated surnames. Fifteen Lyngdohs and 13 Momins fought in this election.

The Lyngdoh strike rate is better than the even Sangmas. Five of the Lyngdohs have won. Only one of the 13 Momins enters the Assembly.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, and the famous Sangma siblings James and Agatha Sangma — children of former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma — have won from their respective constituencies. Mr. Mukul Sangma retained the Ampati seat by a margin of 8,104 votes and also won the Songsak seat by a margin of 1,830 votes.

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Among the siblings, Mr. James Sangma won from Dadenggre by a margin of 2,785 votes. His sister, Ms. Agatha Sangma, won from South Tura by a margin of 1,603 votes.

Chokpot and Rongjeng constituencies had a maximum of five Sangma candidates, with Chokpot grabbing the distinction of having only Sangma-surnamed nominees. In Dalu, Gambegre, North Tura, Salmanpara and South Tura, there were four Sangma candidates with the Sangma surname.

Interestingly, Dadenggre, where Mr. James Sangma won from, had six candidates with the Marak surname, the most for any of the constituency. Songsak — where Mr. Mukul Sangma was the only Sangma candidate with the Sangma surname — saw five contestants surnamed Marak. Resubelpara and Selsella had four Marak candidates each with the Marak surname. In Bajengdoba, all the three candidates were Maraks.

In Dadenggre, Dalu, Gambegre and Rangsakona, there were only Sangmas and Maraks in the reckoning. Of the seven contestants in Dalu, four were Sangmas and the rest were Maraks. While Dadenggre had two Sangmas and six Maraks, Gambegre had four Sangmas and two Maraks. The field was evenly divided in Rangsakona with three Sangmas and Maraks each.

Kharkutta saw only Momins (3) and Sangmas (2) as its candidates.