NPP chief to meet Meghalaya guv to stake claim to form govt

National People's Party (NPP) president Conrad K Sangma will meet Governor Ganga Prasad this evening to stake claim to form a coalition government in Meghalaya, a UDP leader said.
The coalition -- Regional Democratic Alliance (RDA) --comprises the NPP, the United Democratic Party (UDP), Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) and the BJP.
UDP president and RDA chairman Donkupar Roy told reporters here that his party has agreed to lend support to the NPP, which secured 19 seats in the Assembly polls, on the condition that Conrad Sangma will be the chief minister once the NPP-led alliance forms the government.

"Conrad Sangma has agreed to the condition and we will form a stable government. The BJP will be a part of the government here," Roy told reporters after a party meeting.
The alliance has the support of 29 MLAs -- 19 of the NPP, six of the UDP, two of the HSPDP and BJP's two, he said.
"The RDA with 29 MLAs is quite a good number in the House. We will meet the governor to stake claim to form the government," he said.

The UDP chief said that Mukul Sangma also met him and offered him the chief minister's post on a two-and-a-half years sharing basis between his party and the Congress.

"We have rejected this proposal and decided to form a non-Congress government instead," he said.
Meghalaya threw up a fractured mandate yesterday with the ruling Congress emerging as the largest party, marginally ahead of its rival, the NPP, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Manipur.
The Congress bagged 21 seats in the 60-member Assembly, eight less than the last elections.
The BJP, which drew a blank in the last elections, got two seats. The UDP won six seats while its alliance partner the HSPDP won two seats.
The People's Democratic Front (PDF) bagged four seats, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) and three Independents got one seat each.

Polling for the 59 seats of the 60-member Assembly in Meghalaya was held on February 27. A Nationalist Congress Party candidate was killed in an IED blast, which resulted in countermanding of polls in one seat.
Outgoing Chief Minister Mukul Sangma had contested and won the elections from two seats.