Conrad Sangma's Party Ahead In Meghalaya, Short Of Majority

Meghalaya's election results appeared to head the way of the exit polls, with no party in clear majority, as votes were counted on Thursday amid tight security.

Chief Minister Conrad Sangma's National People's Party (NPP) won 16 seats and was leading in nine others, emerging as the single largest party. The majority mark in Meghalaya, where the assembly has 60 seats, is 31. Voting on one of the seats was cancelled and will be held later.

The United Democratic Party (UDP) was in second place, winning nine seats and leading in two more. The Congress and the Trinamool Congress appeared set to win five seats each, and the BJP three.

Conrad Sangma has already dropped a hint that his alliance with the BJP, called off ahead of the elections, may soon be back on. The Chief Minister was leading in the South Tura seat, while his deputy Prestone Tynsong was leading in Pynursla.

"If we get a fraction of the mandate, then we have to talk to parties to form the government... If a party can give voice to the northeast at the national level, we are working towards it," Mr Sangma had told NDTV on Monday after an aggregate of four exit polls indicated that NPP might win about 20 seats.

On Thursday, he said, "I thank the people of our state for having voted for our party. We are grateful to them. We are still short of the numbers and are waiting for the final results, after which we will decide on the way forward."

Mr Sangma had held a meeting with his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP's main troubleshooter in the northeast, in Guwahati after exit polls predicted a hung assembly in Meghalaya.

Exit polls had also predicted that the BJP, which won only two seats in the state in 2018, will marginally expand its tally, winning six seats. The Congress could win six seats and new entrant Trinamool Congress could open its account with 11 seats, exit polls indicated.

In 2018, the BJP won only two seats but managed to cobble together a government with the NPP. This time, the two parties contested separately after a rift over corruption allegations against Mr Sangma's party.

Votes polled in 59 of the 60 assembly constituencies of the state on February 27 are being counted at 13 centres across the state. Polling in the Sohiong seat was adjourned due to the death of a candidate.

Twenty-two companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed to guard the counting centres, Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor told news agency PTI.

The official said that 14 counting halls have been arranged in Shillong and 11 in Tura. Over 500 observers have been deployed across the state. The Election Commission has banned victory processions till 4 pm on Saturday.