Meghalaya, Nagaland Chief Ministers to take oath today, PM to attend swearing-in ceremony

Kohima/ Shillong (Nagaland/ Meghalaya): Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party’s Neiphiu Rio and National People’s Party (NPP) chief Conrad Sangma will take oath as a Nagaland and Meghalaya Chief Ministers respectively today in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national President JP Nadda are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of both the Chief Ministers.

Nagaland political stalwart and its longest-serving chief minister Neiphiu Rio is set to assume office for a fifth consecutive term after the convincing win.

Rio on Saturday had tendered his resignation as Chief Minister of Nagaland to Governor La Ganesan and staked claim to form the new government in the state.

The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-Bharatiya Janata Party retained power in the Nagaland election, with the two parties having secured 37 seats in the 60-member assembly, as per the data by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Rio won the Northern Angami-II Assembly constituency, trouncing Seyievilie Sachu of the Congress by a mammoth margin of 15,824 votes. He bagged a total of 17,045 votes, which comes to 92.87 per cent of the total votes polled in the seat.

Notably, a history was scripted in Nagaland when the state elected its first women legislators in its 60 years of statehood. The state, which has had 13 Assemblies so far, never had a woman MLA before Thursday’s result.

The two women lawmakers – Hekhani Jakhalu and Salhoutuonuo Kruse of the ruling NDPP defeated the sitting MLAs in Western Angami and Dimapur-III seats respectively.

The Northeast state saw a triangular contest as Congress and CPIM, which have been arch rivals for years, stitched a pre-poll alliance to defeat the ruling BJP.

In Meghalaya, the NPP-led alliance, with the support of 45 MLAs two of the BJP has staked claim to form the government in the state.

Among the allies, the eight cabinet berths will go to the NPP, two to the United Democratic Party (UDP) and one each for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP).

Sangma’s NPP won 26 seats in the Assembly elections and is all set to form the government in as the chief minister for a second consecutive term.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Raj Bhawan in Shillong where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be present.

Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma won from the South Tura constituency with a margin of 5,016 against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bernard N Marak, as per the data shared by the Election Commission of India on March 2.

United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 11 seats in the results of assembly polls announced on Thursday. Congress won five seats. Trinamool Congress, which had inducted all Congress MLAs in the previous assembly, also got five seats.

BJP, People’s Democratic Front and Hill State People’s Democratic Party bagged two seats each. Voice of the People Party got four seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates.

BJP and NPP were partners in the outgoing government but fought the assembly polls separately.