Shillong, March 4: Seventy-year-old D. Dethwelson Lapang, who was today sworn in as chief minister of Meghalaya for the second time in his chequered career, had been written off as a “losing candidate” not long ago.
But the veteran politician not only won the Nongpoh seat, but was also unanimously elected leader of the Meghalaya Congress Legislature Party and chairman of the new Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, paving the way for his rise to the top post.
Lapang’s “rivalry” with Meghalaya Congress president Salseng C. Marak had often landed him in controversy.
Marak’s defeat at the hands of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Timothy D. Shira in the Resubelpara constituency made Lapang the undisputed leader of the new coalition, including the United Democratic Party, the Meghalaya Democratic Party and three Independents.
Starting out as a lower division clerk, Lapang became a sub-inspector of schools in Assam.
After winning his first election as an Independent candidate from Nongpoh in 1972, Lapang has not looked back. He joined the Congress in 1978 and won in every election except in 1993, when Constantine Lyngdoh of the Hill People’s Union defeated him.
Lapang first became chief minister of Meghalaya in 1992 and remained in office for a year.
He also served as deputy chief minister in the United Democratic Party-led ministry under B.B. Lyngdoh during 1998-99. He became deputy chief minister for a second time when the People’s Forum of Meghalaya, headed by F.A. Khonglam, took over the reins of power.
Lapang said his priority was to root out corruption and ensure a transparent government, with political stability being the main objective.
He also promised to deal with insurgency in the state with a strong hand.
The other areas that the new chief minister has set his sights on include introduction of the Right to Information Bill and implementation of the Meghalaya Land Transfer Amendment Act.