Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday called up Union Home Minister Amit Shah to seek his help in securing another term after his National People’s Party (NPP) fell short of a majority in the state elections. His request was met without delay.
Meghalaya’s election results appeared to head the way of the exit polls, with no party in clear majority, as votes were counted on Thursday amid tight security.
Sangma’s party won 20 seats and was leading in six others, emerging as the single largest party. The majority mark in Meghalaya, where the assembly has 60 seats, is 31. Voting on one of the seats was cancelled and will be held later.
The United Democratic Party (UDP) was in second place, winning 11 seats. The Congress and the Trinamool Congress appeared set to win five seats each, and the BJP two.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP’s main troubleshooter in the northeast, announced the party’s decision to support Mr Sangma. However, the alliance may still need to cobble together a few more seats to cross the magic number.
