Meghalaya in frenzy

Meghalaya in frenzy

Meanwhile, processions calling for support to Amit have become the order of the day in nearby Meghalaya for the past few weeks. The governor and the chief minister of Meghalaya, B L Joshi and D D Lapang, respectively, have gone public with their support for Amit.

Son of a small-time garment trader of Shillong, Amit – an aspiring singer – sold his favourite music-system to travel to Mumbai for the audition of the contest, got selected but voted out after a few episodes, made a wild card re-entry and then enthralled the judges and countless viewers with his mellifluous baritone.

Over 100 PCOs in and around Shillong have been reserved exclusively to vote for Amit. "He has made all of us proud. We have to do our bit to help him win," said local MLA P T Sawkmie, who has been paying for all the calls made to vote for Amit from 50 PCOs in his constituency. He himself has sent over 15000 SMS votes from his cellphone.

Hundreds of volunteers have been queuing up in front of Amit's residence in Shillong, waiting for their turn to vote for him through the six landline phones his family and fans have placed in the modest three-bedroom apartment.

There are 26 more phones at a makeshift booth on the ground floor of the building.

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