Meghalaya polls: CM Sangma calls Amit Shah, BJP to support NPP to form govt

New Delhi [India], March 2 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma said that his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma called Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking support to form a government in the state. “Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma called Amit Shah ji, Hon’ble Home Minister and sought his support and blessings in forming the new Government,” tweeted CM Sarma. Sarma further said that BJP national president JP Nadda has advised the state unit of the party to support the National People’s Party in forming the next government in Meghalaya.

“Adaraniya Sri JP Nadda ji, the national president of the BJP has advised the state unit of BJP, Meghalaya to support the National People’s Party in forming the next government in Meghalaya,” Assam CM added. Earlier, Sangma dropped a subtle hint of a possible post-poll alliance, as the latest counting trends pointed to the likelihood of a hung Assembly.

He said his party will wait till the number stabilizes and a clearer picture emerges and will then deliberate on a post-poll tie-up, if necessary. “We’d like to thank the people of the state for having voted for us. We are a few numbers short, so we’ll wait for the final results to come out. We will decided our future course of action on the basis of the final results,” CM Sangma told ANI.

According to the latest trends shared by the Election Commission at 6:33 pm on Thursday, the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) won 21 seats and was leading in 5, while the BJP won 2 seats. The TMC, which is the principal Opposition in the state, won 5 seats while the Congress won 5 seats. The People’s Democratic Front bagged 2 seats while the United Democratic Party won 11 seats. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is leading in the South Tura constituency, and had secured 10,090 votes, bagging 50 per cent of the total votes polled in the seat.

The BJP, which had created history in 2018 by wresting the state from Left parties, was tipped to be ahead of its rivals in most exit-poll projections in the state.
The Northeast state saw a triangular contest as Congress and CPIM, which have been arch rivals for years, stitched a pre-poll alliance to defeat the ruling BJP.