Hung Assembly in Meghalaya: ‘Other’ Parties to Play Kingmaker

These regional parties are in the position to decide who will form the government in the state, and on what terms.

Meghalaya is witnessing a fascinating quadrangular contest between the Congress, the BJP and regional parties UDP and NPP.

Picture: Erum Gour/The Quint

Although predominant trends from Meghalaya show the Congress gaining maximum ground in the state with 21 seats, the party is still ten seats short of securing a clear majority.

The National People's Party (NPP) has emerged as the second largest party with 19 seats. The third largest gainer in the state is surprisingly the category branded as ‘Others’, which consists of smaller regional parties like the United Democratic Party (UDP), Hill State People’s Democratic (HSPDP), the Garo National Council (GNC), the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM), the People’s Democratic Front (PDF), and the Independents. Currently, this group is leading in close to 17 seats, in a 60-seat Assembly.

The state of Meghalaya is staring at a hung Assembly.

While the Congress has dispatched senior leaders Ahmed Patel and Kamal Nath to Shillong, the BJP, with a lead in only 2 states, has deputed Himanta Biswa Sarma to help cobble together an alliance government.

Congress’ efforts would be directed at saving face from a similar embarrassment that it faced in Manipur and Goa. For the BJP, its negotiations will be aimed at establishing a non-Congress government with the help of regional allies like the NPP and the ‘Others’ – UDP, HSPDP and the GNC. In what is touted to be a ‘rare move’, the UDP, HSPDP, and the GNC stitched a pre-poll alliance, with the sole aim to rout the Congress from power.

Although the BJP and the NPP are alliance partners under the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), they fought the elections separately.

What united the three blocs – NPP, BJP and the ‘Others’ – is their aim to establish a non-Congress government. In comparison, the Congress’ only possible ally, the NCP has won only 1 seat, giving the anti-Congress faction a clear advantage.

Ahead of the elections, the alliance leader Paul Lyngdoh, who is also UDP’s working president had said that the tri-party alliance would not rule out the possibility of an alliance with the NPP, which was also the third-largest leader in the polls, with over 15 seat-leads.

Lyngdoh said the prime motivator behind the decision to ally was to ensure a non-Congress government in the state, adding:

…It is very important to keep in mind that our (regional parties’) common cause is to oust the Congress which has a string of misdeeds and we have given Mukul Sangma enough time.

Speaking to The Quint, Patricia Mukhim, editor of Shillong Times said the regional parties hold the baton to form the next government.

Regional parties across the country have always allied with the party in power at the Centre. So we could be looking at a BJP alliance led by the regional parties in Meghalaya.

However, Mukhim noted that coalition governments in the state have alway been unstable, with the smaller parties demanding ministerial berths. She added:

More time is invariably spent in bargaining for ministerial berths. As a result, development and the people’s agenda is hardly ever met.

The BJP in-charge for Meghalaya Nalin Kohi meanwhile has said the party leaders will now look to form a post-poll alliance with the regional parties to form government.

The vote is basically against the Congress if you see the performance of other parties.

BJP leader Ram Madhav, while addressing a press conference after the initial trends indicated a victory for the BJP in Tripura, said party leader Himanta Biswa Sarma was leaving for Meghalaya to ensure that a non-Congress government was formed in the state.

SK Sunn, an independent candidate who won from the Mawphlang constituency too said he will support “any party that works for the welfare of the people of state”.

Mukhim, however, said the independent candidates in particular add to the instability by constantly wavering between parties, adding:

The Independents will definitely ally with the ruling party. But this lot is highly unscrupulous, as they can move any time. 

However, Mukhim is sure that Meghalaya will see only a coalition government come into force. “Coalition is the only way forward. Whoever forms the government should look at forming a stable government”, she said.

As of 1:15 pm, the UDP had won 2 seats and was leading in 4 seats, the PDF was leading in 4 seats, the HSPDP had won 1 seat and was leading in another, and Independents had won two seats and were leading in two other.

According to NDTV, the ‘Other’ parties had secured close to 29 seats in the 2013 elections.

And though the seats gained by the other parties are fewer than their 2013 figure, this group is still in the position to decide who will form the government in the state, and on what terms.

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