Meghalaya Chief Minister D. D. Lapang checkmated his bete noire Purno Sangma by splitting the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

IN a game of political one-upmanship Meghalaya Chief Minister D. D. Lapang checkmated his archrival and bete noire Purno Sangma by splitting the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). However, former Lok Sabha speaker Mr. Sangma expressed the view that the split was illegal and would not be able to withstand the scrutiny of law. The Congress and the NCP were at loggerheads since Mr. Sangma left the parent party and joined hands with Sharad Pawar over the issue of foreign origin of Sonia Gandhi. Before being expelled by the party, Purno Sangma was the undisputed Congress leader in the Garo Hills of the State. Garo Hills was the stronghold of the Congress party in Meghalaya. Majority of Congress MLAs used to come from that area. But the equations were changed once Mr. Sangma formed the new party. As Mr. Sangma is immensely popular among the Garo people, he attracted a sizeable chunk of Congress vote in favour of the NCP.

During the last Assembly elections in February, NCP did considerably well in Garo Hills. But that was not enough for Mr. Sangma to prevent the Congress from coming to power with the help of other regional parties from the Khasi Hills. The NCP leader tried till the last moment. The NCP even staked its claim to form the government knowing fully well that it did not have the numbers. The move was aimed at creating hurdles for the Congress. Since then, war of words between Mr. Lapang and Mr. Sangma became a common feature in Meghalaya politics. These two veteran leaders practically fought over every issue ranging from talks with the militants to the welfare of the State. While Mr. Sangma left no stone unturned to dislodge the Congress-led coalition government, Mr. Lapang took every possible step to corner his political rival.

For records, with the induction of four of the six rebel NCP MLAs into the Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government this evening, the size of the D. D. Lapang-led Council of Ministers rose to 42 including ten Ministers of State. On the other hand, NCP has now eight MLAs in the State Assembly. Meghalaya’s PDM to merge with Congress Political instability due to defections and mergers in smaller Indian states is nothing new. But it touched a new low in Meghalaya from 1998 to 2003, when five governments headed by four chief ministers were formed. S C Marak, B B Lyngdoh (twice), E K Mawlong and Dr F A Khonglam were the Chief Ministers.

However, the recent decision of the six-year-old People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) to merge with the ruling Congress will not plunge the state into a political crisis unlike previous years, rather it will be a shot in the arm for the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA). Congress-led MDA came to ower after the Assembly elections in last February. Apart from the Congress it comprises United Democratic Party, Meghalaya Democratic Party, Khun Hyniewtrep National Awkening Movement (KHNAM), Hill State People’s Democratic Party, independents and newly formed Meghalaya Nationalist Congress Party . PDM, which had won three seats in the 1998 elections, drew a blank in the 2003 polls. It had fielded eight candidates. The PDM took the decision to merge with the Congress at its general council meeting on December 8, after its leaders felt that they had failed to fulfill people’s aspirations. The decision to merge with the Congress came after considering various factors,

PDM president Sounder S Cajee said and added this was done in the larger  interests of the people of the state.  Mr. Cajee is a Member of District Council (MDC) from Mawlai. However PDM General Secretary Dr Pascal Malngiangn had resigned from his post and would not join any political party in near future. The decision would be forwarded to the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee president Salseng C Marak and the PDM had already received the green signal from the Congress in this regard. In the 1998 assembly elections, PDM had put up 19 candidates but only M Danggo, Ellston Roy Kharkongor and Cyprian R Sangma could win their seats. In the 2003 polls Mr. Danggo contested on a Congress ticket from Langrin in West Khasi Hills and is the Speaker in the present Assembly. In the last polls Mr. Kharkongor lost to the newly formed KHNAM candidate Lambor Malngiang from Nongrem in East Khasi Hills district. Cyprian R Sangma had won West Garo Hills’s Selsella seat on a PDM ticket in 1998, but this time he joined NCP and won. .

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