Voting begins in Meghalaya

In Shillong parliamentary constituency, there are eight candidates, including lone woman candidate Ivoryna Shylla, who is fighting the election as an Independent.

Prominent candidates in the electoral ring from Meghalaya's capital include sitting Congress Lok Sabha member Vincent H. Pala, Paul Lyngdoh (United Democratic Party), Shibun Lyngdoh (Bharatiya Janata Party) and P.B.M. Basaiawmoit (Independent).

However, all eyes are on the Tura parliamentary constituency where former Lok Sabha Speaker and NPP candidate Purno Agitok Sangma is ranged against the Congress' Daryl William Cheran Momin.

Agatha K.Sangma, the youngest parliamentarian in the current Lok Sabha representing Tura constituency, quit the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and decided not to contest the April 9 election to make room for her father, Purno Sangma, who had earlier represented the constituency for straight nine times and has served as a speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has called for a 12-hour shutdown from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday as part of the outfit's boycott of the parliamentary elections in the eastern part of Meghalaya.