Speculation of NPP-BJP alliance in Meghalaya
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
GUWAHATI: A day before the counting of votes in Meghalaya, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had a closed-door meeting with Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma at midnight Tuesday amidst speculation about a hung Assembly.
While there was no official communication on the meeting, that was held in a Guwahati hotel, sources said Mr Sangma and Mr Sarma discussed the possibility of a post-election alliance to form the next government in the state.
Saying that Mr Sangma returned to Tura, his hometown in Meghalaya, on Wednesday morning, sources said the duo also explored the possibility of roping in legislators from other political parties in case of the National People’s Party (NPP) and the BJP combine failing to cross the magic figure of 30 legislators in the 60-member House.
It is significant that the NPP, led by chief minister Conrad Sangma, had broken the alliance with the BJP and decided to go to the polls alone in the Assembly polls. The BJP, which was a part of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance led by chief minister Conrad Sangma in the outgoing setup, went all out against the NPP and put up candidates in all 60 seats.
Mr Sarma, who is the key political strategist for the BJP in the Northeast, is also convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), which was instrumental in spreading the influence of the saffron party in the region.
The meeting of two chief ministers is also significant as just a day earlier the Assam chief minister had said that he was confident that the NDA would be forming the government in all the three northeastern eastern states — Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya – which had gone to the polls in Fenruary. He had also predicted that there will be no hung Assembly in Tripura and Nagaland, where elections were held recently.
