TURA, Feb 17? The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma suffered a major setback when it failed to form the next executive committee of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), losing to rival Congress that got the required numbers with support from regional party UDP and Independents.
The decision of the three United Democratic Party MDCs and four Independents to support Congress took the total strength of the group to 18 MDCs, two more than the required number for a simple majority. Both NCP and Congress failed to get a simple majority in the election. Out of 29 seats, the two rival parties got 11 seats each, while 3 seats went to UDP and 4 to Independents. The NCP, at one point of time, with its 11 members had managed to get the support of two Independents, but with the UDP deciding to go the Congress side things changed overnight. The two Independents, Roynath Sangma and Aperson G Momin, also did a U-turn and headed for the winners camp.
The NCP had tried to woo the three UDP and four Independents into their camp but the UDP leadership in Shillong asked its three members to tow the party line by sticking to the Congress. The UDP is a partner in the Congress-led coalition in the Meghalaya government. Among the four Independents, two are former NCP members who were reluctant to support their former party due to previous squabbles.
On Monday afternoon, the 11 Congress MDCs had a closed-door meeting with MPCC president Salseng C Marak and a host of Congress ministers, Dr Mukul Sangma, Debora C Marak and others at Tura Circuit House. The same evening they held another meeting of its coalition partners, the UDP and the four Independents, to decide on the formation of the next executive committee in GHADC and election of the Chief Executive Member (CEM).
The meeting unanimously selected five-time sitting MDC from Rochonpara, Ebelson A Sangma, as the new CEM of GHADC. Former GSU president and Tura MDC Rikseng A Sangma was chosen as the new Chairman of the Council. The strength of the new executive committee is to be six in number, and the decision to name the new coalition was not taken at the meeting. The Congress and its allies are expected to approach the Deputy Commissioner of Tura on February 19 to stake claim for forming the new executive committee.