Voting for Meghalaya's Tura parliamentary constituency bypoll began on a peaceful note Thursday where over 5.26 lakh voters in three districts of Garo hill region are expected to exercise their franchise.
Purno Sangma's daughter Agatha K Sangma of the Nationalist Congress Party won the Tura parliamentary bypoll on Sunday defeating the Congress candiate Zenith Sangma by a margin of 99,855 votes.
Former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma's daughter Agatha Kongkhal will be the Nationalist Congress Party candidate for the May 22 by-election to Meghalaya's Tura Lok Sabha seat. Sangma has never lost from the Tura parliamentary seat since 1977, even though he changed his party affiliation from the Congress to the Trinamool Congress and then to the NCP.A law graduate registered with the Delhi Bar Council, Agatha has a string of degrees.
The 'ethical voting' campaign launched by the Election Commission of India has pulled big crowds in rural as well as urban centres of Garo hills areas under Tura parliamentary constituency in Meghalaya in the run up to the polling that is being held on Wednesday.
As the two parliamentary constituencies in Meghalaya, Tura and Shillong go to polls on Wednesday, the glare will be on Tura constituency where former Lok Sabha Speaker and eight-time Lok Sabha member Purno A Sangma, 66, of the National People's Party is fighting the most crucial election in his life against Congress greenhorn Daryl Williams Ch Momin, 27, in a straight contest.