Congress' fall helps BJP ally & Conrad Sangma-led NPP retain control in Meghalaya

Guwahati: Five Congress candidates, who got elected to the 60 member Meghalaya Assembly in March 2023 polls literally saved the face of the grand old party that had remained in power for maximum time in the hilly Northeastern state.

The homegrown National People's Party (NPP) was left with no option but to stitch an alliance with BJP and other regional parties as it won 26 seats--five short of the majority mark. The alliance helped the Conrad Sangma-led NPP to retain power for the second straight term.

In a little over two years since then, Congress' tally in the Assembly became nil on Wednesday when the party's lone MLA, Ronnie V. Lyngdoh defected to NPP.

Three other MLAs similarly jumped ship to the NPP last year while Saleng A. Sangma was elected to the Lok Sabha from Tura constituency. Sangma, interestingly, defeated NPP's sitting MP and Conrad's sister Agatha Sangma in Tura.

"People of my constituency want more development," Lyngdoh, who represents Mylliem constituency, told reporters when asked about what led him to take the decision.

NPP gains strength

While Lyngdoh's defection came as the last blow to Congress, this increased NPP's tally to 33 thus further cementing its position in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government. Victory of CM's wife Mehtab in bypolls and joining of two PDF MLA last year increased the ruling party's tally to 32.

This, according to NPP insiders, will allow Sangma to work freely without fear of withdrawal of support of the alliance partners, particularly the United Democratic Party with 11 MLAs.

The Congress MLAs, according to sources, preferred the NPP over BJP as Meghalaya is a Christian-dominant state. BJP has two legislators.

Leadership crisis cripples Congress

Sources within Congress in Meghalaya blamed the leadership void created since the departure of former CM Mukul Sangma, who defected to Trinamool Congress (TMC) in November 2021, for the party's gradual fall in the state politics.

Congress retained Vincent Pala as its state president but Pala himself lost the election. Ampareen Lyngdoh, another senior leader and former minister, also quit and joined NPP just before the 2023 polls, further deepening the leadership crisis in the party.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, Congress had emerged as the largest party with 21 seats but Conrad Sangma stitched an alliance and thereby denied Mukul Sangma-led Congress to form the government for the third straight term.

With the lone Congress MLA jumping ship, TMC and Voice of the People Party, with five and four MLAs each, now are left in the Opposition.