SHILLONG: A day after the opposition Congress in Meghalaya announced that leader of opposition, Mukul Sangma , would be the party candidate to contest from the Tura Lok Sabha seat, chief minister Conrad Sangma , who is president of the National People's Party (NPP), expressed confidence that his party would retain the prestigious seat."We know that the party is getting a good response at the grassroots level. The party organization is very upbeat and therefore I am sure that the NPP will win the Tura seat by a very big margin," the chief minister told reporters on the assembly premises on the last day of the budget session on Thursday.Conrad, who had represented Tura in the Lok Sabha, had to vacate it last year in order to win a berth in the state assembly to continue as the chief minister. He also sought to downplay Congress's decision to field former chief minister Mukul Sangma from Tura by claiming that it would not hurt NPP's prospects as the latter already has a strong presence throughout the Garo Hills region.Conrad further said that the government and the party have been working "very hard" in the past one year, and this has been appreciated by the people. "The people are seeing the kind of work we have been doing. I am sure that the people of the state would like to ensure that the good work of the present government continues," the chief minister observed.Conrad also pointed out that constituents of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) are "pretty clear" about the decision of fielding a common candidate for the Shillong parliamentary seat. "Right from the beginning, we had made it abundantly clear that we are committed to have a common candidate. The people of the state also know what we are planning to do," he said.The MDA has decided to field United Democratic Party (UDP) leader and former legislator Jemino Mawthoh for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat and late PA Sangma's daughter Agatha of the NPP from the Tura seat - a decision which is yet to be formally announced.On the other hand, the Congress, which has decided to field former chief minister Mukul Sangma from the Tura parliamentary seat, will once again field sitting MP Vincent H Pala from the Shillong parliamentary seat. The Grand Old Party has said that it is confident of winning the Tura seat as it has fielded its 'tallest leader' - Mukul Sangma.

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