New Delhi: Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Tura constituency in Meghalaya.
67-year-old Sangma, who unsuccessfully contested the presidential election as an opposition candidate against Pranab Mukherjee, will contest the general election as a candidate of National People's Party (NPP).
His daughter and former Union Minister of State Agatha Sangma, who is sitting MP from Tura, said she will not contest the upcoming election to pave way for her father. NPP is expected to formally join National Democratic Alliance soon.
Sangma, a former chief minister of Meghalaya, was elected to Lok Sabha eight times since his first entry to the Lower House in 1977. He was Lok Sabha Speaker between 1996 and 1998.
He was expelled from the Congress in 1999 along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar for raising a banner of revolt against Sonia Gandhi over her foreign origin issue.
Subsequently, the trio formed the Nationalist Congress Party. However, in 2004 he left NCP and formed a regional party which later merged with Trinamool Congress. He later rejoined NCP, but only to part ways with it later and unsuccessfully contested the presidential election against Pranab Mukherjee.
He was supported by BJP, BJD, AIADMK and others.
