SHILLONG, May 10 – Former chief minister of Meghalaya E K Mawlong has been replaced by Donkupar Roy, the Deputy Chief Minister, as the chief of United Democratic Party, the second largest constituent of the Congress-led coalition government in Meghalaya, reports PTI. Mawlong was the chief of the UDP from 1997.
Mawlong, whose coalition government fell on December 7, 2001 following alleged involvement in the controversial Meghalaya House deal in Kolkata and defeat in this year’s Assembly elections, was made an advisor to the UDP at Friday’s general council elections, party sources said. The UDP has a strength of nine in the 42-member Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government headed by D D Lapang in a 60-member house. Congress with 22 seats leads the coalition.
Just prior to the February assembly elections, UDP had split when some of its members led by Martle Mukhim, now a minister in the Lapang Government, broke away and formed the Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP), which later joined the government.