SHILLONG, May 23 – With the July 6 deadline for downsizing of the ministry just over a month away, permutations and combinations have become the order of the day in the political arena of the State. As per the new law, Meghalaya can have only 12 ministers in a House of sixty. Speculations are rife as to what could be the formula that Chief Minister D.D. Lapang, leader of the Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic alliance (MDA) coalition would follow while downsizing his jumbo ministry. With the D-Day approaching, the guessing game has begun, and so has the politicking among the Congress party’s regional party allies as they jostle among themselves to extract a better bargain.
Rumours are doing the rounds in the political circles in the capital that the Congress, which has a total of 28 MLAs is keen on keeping at least six of the 12 ministerial posts for itself. The remaining six berths are to be distributed among the rest of the allies, which includes the United Democratic Party (UDP) nine MLAs, Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP) with four, Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) two, Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) two, besides four Independents.
While the KHNAM and the HSPDP are certain to get a berth each, four posts are left to be divided among the UDP, MDP and the four independents. Chief Minister Lapang has denied reports that he was planning to drop the UDP from the ministry for not initiating action against the junior minister of PWD (Roads), Heltone N. Marak, who resigned as minister at a crucial moment prior to the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections and directly campaigned against the Congress candidate in Tura.
However, sources said that the Congress was not taking Marak’s actions lightly as it was considered a major embarrassment to the party and its candidate, Dr. Mukul Sangma. Marak’s virtual ‘revolt’ against the Congress is widely seen as one of the major factors which spoilt the prospects of Mukul Sangma, who lost the elections to the veteran Purno A. Sangma of the National Trinamool Congress. On the other hand, three of the four MDP ministers have reportedly taken strong exception to the remarks made by the party president and a senior cabinet minister Martle N. Mukhim to the effect that the regional parties were trying to merge together, ostensibly to check the growth of the Congress. Such comments by a senior leader could create misunderstanding between the party and the Congress, the ministers felt.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister D.D. Lapang, who is currently campting at New Delhi is likely to lobby with the new Congress-led government in the Centre for exemption from the downsizing law, which could save him from the tough task of pacifying his partners in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coalition government in the State. Speaking to the media earlier, Lapang, while welcoming the new law, which could bring about more accountability and transparency in the running of the government, however, opined that alternative arrangements could be beneficial to small states like Meghalaya, which have very few legislators compared to other states of the country.