NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Defection of three Congress MLAs has not only helped the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) secure a simple majority on its own, but it has also placed the party in a commanding position for the Rajya Sabha election which is likely to happen earlier than scheduled, according to sources familiar with these matters.
Sitting Rajya Sabha member from Meghalaya, Wanwei Roy Kharlukhi’s term expires in 2026 but the senior politician has already expressed his unwillingness to run for a second term.
Kharlukhi, an educationist by profession, had worked hard behind the scene to bring back the NPP to power in the state, but he is no more interested in politics.
There are chances that Kharlukhi is likely to call it quits any time before his term expires and the NPP has to find someone for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Meghalaya, as and when the election takes place.
As it is, the party is in a comfortable position in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly but wants an absolute majority on its own to avoid any unlikely scenario.
The party is also on good terms with all the MDA constituents, especially the biggest ally – UDP – but after the shock loss of the traditional family stronghold of Tura which it held for decades, the party simply cannot afford to take any chance.
Emergence of the Voice of the People Party in Khasi-Jaintia Hills and its record victory in the Shillong parliamentary seat has also unnerved the party which was sitting pretty in its second consecutive term at the helm of affairs.
The defeat of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s elder sibling, James PK Sangma in the Assembly election in 2023 from the Dadenggre seat and the shock loss of his sister, Agatha Sangma, to a weak Congress party in the prestigious Tura seat has also not gone down well with the party rank and file. For future elections, the party does not want to take any chance, the sources said.
Incidentally, the chief minister has made it clear that there would not be any cabinet reshuffle now. This rules out talks of ministerial berth for at least one of the defected Congress MLAs, most possibly veteran Celestine Lyngdoh.
This is also partly because of the feeling of being left out by the NPP leaders in the respective constituencies. Speculations of the party aiming for a morale boosting victory in the upcoming Gambegre Assembly bye-election are also true, especially since Conrad’s wife Mehtab Chandee has been named as the party candidate.
There have been instances of horse trading before any defection in any party, mostly seen in the Congress. However, the timing of the defection of the three Congress MLAs and that too without any condition for a ministerial berth raises several questions than remain unanswered.
