Former Lok Sabha speaker Purno A Sangma, who parted company with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and joined Mamta Banerjee's Nationalist Trinamool Congress just before the polls, has a comfortable lead of 40,053 votes over his nearest rival in Meghalaya.
Sangma, who is contesting from the Tura Lok Sabha seat for the eighth consecutive time, is ahead of his Congress rival, state Information and Technology Minister Mukul Sangma, in a straight fight.
In the 1999 general elections, Sangma had won from Tura on a Nationalist Congress Party ticket by a margin of over 1.13 lakh votes in a five-cornered battle.
In the Shillong seat, Kyndiah, who was seeking re-election for the third consecutive time, was ahead of his nearest BJP candidate Sanbor Swell Lyngdoh by a margin of 29,926 votes till noon.
Three candidates including Independents Loniak Marbaniang, who is being supported by four regional party alliance, are in the fray from Shillong.
Kyndiah, who has fought on a Congress ticket in the last hustings as well, had emerged victorious in a nine-pronged fight by a margin of over 37,000 votes.
PTI
