TURA: The GHADC Executive Committee of the NPP-BJP-GNC alliance fell with its chief executive member (CEM) resigning even before he could face the no-confidence test on the floor of the House on Thursday morning.
CEM Denang T. Sangma handed over his resignation letter to Council Chairman Boston Marak and did not attend the session that was to debate and vote on the no-confidence motion.
When the House assembled for the last day’s session, the chairman announced the resignation of the CEM that automatically led to the dissolution of the executive committee.
The writing was clearly on the wall for the Denang T. Sangma-led Executive Committee after five of its alliance members defected to the Congress camp led by Chairman Boston Marak. From a majority of 19 MDCs, the alliance number shrank to just 13 on the day when the no-trust motion was to be moved.
GHADC has 29 elected members and one member is nominated.
Those who switched allegiance to the opposition camp were senior executive member Winnison Marak of the Garo National Council, Dhormonath Sangma, who had earlier deserted the Congress and joined NPP, Ismail Marak and Righteous Marak, who joined BJP from their parent parties Congress and NCP, respectively.
The fall of the NPP-led alliance paves the way for the opposition Congress to form a new EC led by the rebel NPP MDC and current chairman.
Boston, the son of late P.A Sangma’s elder brother, claims to have the support of 16 MDCs in a House of 19.
He rebelled against his own party accusing the leadership, in this case his cousin and Tura MP Conrad K. Sangma, of not heeding to the demands for a change in leadership at the district council.
According to party insiders, NPP had been riddled with leadership issues since last October with a section of the party MDCs demanding a change.
At that point of time, Boston’s name was doing the rounds in the corridors of the Council but the party leadership decided against a change of guard that ultimately led to the current turmoil where the opposition Congress stepped in.
NPP had won 10 seats in the 2015 GHADC polls relegating the Congress to second place with seven seats. GNC had won three seats, BJP 1, NCP 1 and Independents seven.
