After three days of drama, with separate political formations claiming they had the numbers to form the Meghalaya government, all speculation was put to rest on Sunday night as the United Democratic Party (UDP) and the People's Democratic Front (PDF) extended support to the Conrad Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP) coalition. Letters of support from both parties were handed over to Sangma on Sunday night. “Thank you UDP and PDF for coming forward to join the NPP to form the government. The strong support from homegrown political parties will further strengthen us to serve Meghalaya and its people,” Sangma tweeted soon after. Till Saturday, the UDP — which had emerged as the second-largest party with 11 seats — was trying to stitch up an alternative coalition government with regional outfits and Mukul Sangma’s Trinamool Congress (TMC). UDP leaders had also claimed that the party might sit in the Opposition if it was unable to cobble up the numbers. However, on Sunday, the party did a U-turn and threw its weight behind former ally NPP. The Indian Express reached out to several UDP leaders but no one was available for comment. On March 2, the results of the February 27 Assembly election threw up a fractured mandate. Hours after the results, the BJP, with two MLAs, extended support to the NPP, which had emerged as the single-largest party with 26 seats. The following day, the NPP was able to secure the support of two more independent MLAs and two legislators from the Hill State Peoples’ Democratic Party (HSPDP). This took the post-poll alliance’s number up to 32, one more than the majority mark. However, things did not go according to plan as the HSPDP unexpectedly issued a statement saying that it had not “authorised” its MLAs to “lend support” to government formation. This coincided with hectic politicking by the UDP — a constituent of the NPP-led government from 2018 to 2023 — and other parties to stitch up a "non-NPP, non-BJP" coalition. Even as Sangma on Saturday confirmed that he had received a letter from the Meghalaya Governor inviting him and his party to form the government, the alternative political formation led by the UDP continued to claim it had the numbers. In parts of Shillong, pressure groups protested against the move of the two HSPDP MLAs to extend support to the NPP-led coalition — burning effigies of both and even setting fire to the office of one. However, after Sunday’s night development, Sangma is in a comfortable position to form the government for a second term, with the ruling coalition’s strength going up to 45 in the 60-seat Assembly. The Sangma Cabinet's swearing-in ceremony is slated to be held at the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to attend it.
