‘Manipur 2.0’ in Meghalaya
BJP LEAVES CONGRESS, DESPITE BEING SINGLE LARGEST PARTY, LAGGING IN THE NUMBERS GAME
After a day-long political drama on Sunday, Meghalaya became another state, after Manipur and Goa, where the Congress has not been able to forge a postpolls alliance with any of the regional parties despite emerging as the largest single party.
A number of regional parties, with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), outsmarted the Congress, which has emerged as the single largest party in recently concluded polls in the race for government formation in Meghalaya.
The NPP president Conrad Sangma met Meghalaya Governor Ganga Prasad on Sunday evening and staked claim to form the government in the state with the support of 34 MLAs in the 60member Assembly.
"We met the Governor and submitted a letter of support from 34 MLAs — 19 of the NPP, six of the the United Democratic Party (UDP), four of the People's Democratic Front (PDF), two each of the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) and the BJP and an Independent," 40-year-old Sangma told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan here.
The NPP, which secured 19 seats on its own, has the backing of six United Democratic Party (UDP) legislators, four People's Democratic Front (PDF) MLAs, two each from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) MLAs and an Independents legislator.
Assam Health Minister and convener of the BJP-led alliance North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma said that a delegation comprising the legislators of NPP, UDP, BJP, HSPDP and UDF met the Governor at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday and said they have the required numbers to form the nest state government.
"The mandate in Meghalaya is against the Congress. The role of the BJP is just a facilitator. We are facilitating the regional parties in Meghalaya to unite and form a government in
the state to keep the Congress at bay," said Sarma, who has been camping in the state since Saturday.
On the other hand, outgoing Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma also met the Governor and said that his party should be invited to form the next government as it is the single largest party.
The Chief minister, however, failed to produce letters of support from any other party.
A delegation of three Congress leaders – Kamal Nath, Ahmed Patel and C P Joshi – had on Saturday staked a claim to form the government in the state at a meeting with the Governor.
"We met the Governor and sought his invitation to the single largest party to be called first to form the government as per convention," former Union minister Nath had told PTI.