By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The UDP and NPP will stitch an alliance in JHADC while all the MDA coalition partners will form the Executive Committee in KHADC.
Though the post of CEM is yet to be decided for Khasi Hills, the NPP will get it in JHADC.
The UDP, after a meeting held on Saturday evening, announced that the Regional Democratic Alliance comprising UDP and HSPDP along with the NPP will form the new EC in KHADC, but who would get the post of CEM would be decided on Sunday.
PDF and independents will also be part of the EC.
UDP president Donkupar Roy said UDP and NPP will form the EC in JHADC, but since NPP got 12 seats and UDP 10, the former will get the CEM post and the UDP that of deputy CEM’s.
In a reverse arrangement, the post of chairman in JHADC will go to UDP and that of deputy chairman to NPP. Five posts of Executive Members will go to NPP and four to UDP.
The Congress secured four seats and the remaining three went to Independents in JHADC.
According to Roy, in KHADC, the Regional Democratic Alliance along with the NPP will form the EC while the issue of electing the CEM will be discussed and decided on Sunday.
Admitting that there are many leaders who want to be the CEM since there are many political parties in the region, he added that the UDP has secured only six seats in Khasi Hills.
He also said that the one Independent MDC has joined UDP and they are also expecting support of HSPDP since they are part of the Regional Democratic Alliance.
The Congress and NPP have emerged single largest parties in fractured mandates in KHADC and JHADC, respectively.
By winning 10 seats in the House of 29, the Congress has emerged as the single largest party in KHADC followed by NPP with seven. The HSPDP managed to win two seats and the PDF bagged only one.
Three Independent candidates also won the elections in KHADC.
Earlier, after the meeting on Saturday evening, Roy announced that the UDP and NPP have decided to form the new Executive Committees in both KHADC and JHADC. Roy admitted that one of the factors for the average performance of the UDP in the elections “is that the party “If we had half of the money which the national parties have, we would have won many more seats,” he said.
Asserting that some voters are money-minded and always ask for money from every candidate just a few days before the election, he, however, added that there may be only 20-30 per cent such voters but they play a significant role in deciding the fate of a candidate.
He also said that the party had managed to gather huge crowds during public meetings, but it was not converted to votes and the party lost momentum in the later stages of electioneering.
Contesting candidates from different political parties along with their supporters thronged various counting centres in Khasi and Jaintia Hills since morning.
Polo Sports complex in Shillong witnessed the maximum number of people holding placards and banners.
A total of 130 candidates were in the fray for the 29 seats in KHADC while 101 candidates contested in JHADC.
While the results brought joy and happiness for some, they also disappointed many sitting MDCs.
JHADC chief MD Rymbai of NPP besides several other sitting MDCs lost.
At the counting centre in Shillong, police personnel in large numbers were deployed.
In addition, counting also took place in Nongpoh, Sohra, Nongstoin, Mawkyrwat and Mairang, offices of Deputy Commissioners in West and East Jaintia Hills and other centres.
EVM glitches
In Mawphlang-Diengiei constituency of the KHADC, the EVM button in one polling station did not work. Two polling stations in Jowai (North) also suffered a similar fate.
The glitch was noticed and the officials concerned decided to open the control unit of the EVMs with the permission of the candidates. Initially, repolling was contemplated in these polling booths.