HT Bureau
DIPHU, June 8: The president of the All Party Hills Leaders Conference (APHLC), JI Kathar, expressed confidence on Saturday that the party can win in the Assembly election.
APHLC, an unregistered regional political party, held a review meeting at Diphu Club to assess the outcome of the concluded Lok Sabha election. JI Kathar contested the parliamentary seat from the 6 Diphu (ST) Parliamentary Constituency in Assam, the result of which was declared on June 4.
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After the meeting, Kathar held a press conference where he said, “First of all, I thank all the voters of Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, and Dima Hasao. I personally thank the vegetable vendors selling vegetables in Diphu market, auto-rickshaw drivers, truck drivers, laborers, and the poor sections of society, who have immensely supported the APHLC. In 2019, we had secured just 39,583 votes, but now because of your love and support, we have improved significantly in our vote share. We have secured 187,017 votes. We have become a tough contestant against the BJP.”
Notably, the party has won in 10 Member of Autonomous Council (MAC) constituencies in Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong and two MAC seats in Dima Hasao. The surprising part is that the APHLC has won in Singhason MAC constituency, which is the MAC constituency of BJP MP Amarsing Tisso, and Tisso is still the MAC of Singhason and executive member (EM) of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council.
It is also observed that the APHLC has made a considerable improvement compared to the previous 2019 Lok Sabha election. The party came third after Congress candidate Biren Singh Engti in the 2019 election, but in this 2024 election, the party has become the closest contender against BJP, leaving Congress and another regional party, ASDC, far behind.
In the 2019 election, APHLC secured a total of 39,583 votes, whereas the winner, BJP’s Horensing Bey, secured 381,316 votes. In this 2024 election, APHLC-backed independent candidate JI Kathar secured 187,017 votes, while the winner, BJP’s Amarsing Tisso, secured 334,620 votes.
On the other hand, Congress secured 124,019 votes, ASDC secured just 9,633, and Gana Suraksha Party’s John Barnard Sangma secured 11,279 votes. Compared to 2019, APHLC has seen a significant increase of 147,434 votes, while for the BJP, it has decreased by 46,696 votes.
“Our own party (regional party) needs to win for the protection of our land, tribe, culture, language, and identity. If our own party cannot win, we cannot protect them,” Kathar added.
Kathar further said that several voters could not cast their votes as they could not find their names on the voters’ list at the polling booth.
Kathar claimed that he won in 10 MAC constituencies in Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong and two in Dima Hasao, namely Umrangso and Garampani in Dima Hasao.
MAC constituencies that Kathar won include Singhason, Hamren, Socheng, Socheng Dhenta, Lumbajong, Surupathar, Nilip, Duarbagori, and Korkhanti. It may be mentioned that Singhason is represented by the BJP MP-elect Amarsing Tisso, from where he had won the MAC election in 2023.
