Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election, 2008

The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election of 2008 took place in a single phase on 3 March 2008 to elect the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from each of the 60 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) in Meghalaya, India. Counting of votes happened on 7 March 2008 and because of the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)

Indian voting machines

Electronic Voting Machines are beingused in Indian General and State Elections to implement electronic voting in part from 1999 elections and in total since 2002 elections...

in this election, the results were ready within the day.

The ruling coalition Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA)

Meghalaya Democratic Alliance

The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance was a coalition of political parties that formed the Government in the state of Meghalaya, India after the Legislative Assembly elections in Meghalaya, 2003. It was headed by the Indian National Congress , which was the party with the highest number of seats in...

had broken apart in the lead-up to this election, forcing the main partner Indian National Congress (INC)

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

to take on their erstwhile partners including United Democratic Party (UDP)

United Democratic Party (Meghalaya)

The United Democratic Party is a political party recognised in Meghalaya state, India. It is led by Donkupar Roy....

and Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP)

Meghalaya Democratic Party

The Meghalaya Democratic Party is a political party recognised in the India state of Meghalaya. Its symbol is the bicycle, and chief is M.D. Mukhim. The MDF is aligned neither with the NDA nor with the UPA....

who had decided to fight against the INC

Indian National Congress

on basis on corruption charges against the incumbent Government.

The election provided a hung verdict

Hung parliament

In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...

and both the incumbent INC

Indian National Congress

and the post-election coalition of NCP

Nationalist Congress Party

The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...

-UDP

United Democratic Party (Meghalaya)

The United Democratic Party is a political party recognised in Meghalaya state, India. It is led by Donkupar Roy....

(who called themselved the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA)

Meghalaya Progressive Alliance

The Meghalaya Progressive Alliance was the ruling coalition of political parties that formed the Government in the state of Meghalaya, India from 2008 to 2009. It was led by the Nationalist Congress Party and the United Democratic Party who are the second and third largest parties in the 8th...

staked claim with the Governor of Meghalaya M.M. Jacob to form the next Government of Meghalaya

Government of Meghalaya

The Government of Meghalaya also known as the State Government of Meghalaya, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Meghalaya and its 7 districts...

. By virtue of being the single largest party in this election, winning 25 of the total 60 seats, the incumbent Chief Minister D. D. Lapang

D. D. Lapang

Dr. Donwa Dethwelson Lapang , popularly known as Dr. D. D. Lapang, is a politician from Meghalaya, India, and the ex-chief minister of Meghalaya....

of the INC

Indian National Congress

was invited by the Governor to form the new Government on 10 March 2008. However, the Lapang Government was unable to get enough support in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly

Meghalaya Legislative Assembly

The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly is a unicameral legislature in the government of the state of Meghalaya in India. Constituted as a directly elected body in 1972, it comprises 60 members, filled through direct elections held every five years. Like other Indian states, Meghalaya has a...

and the Chief Minister resigned 9 days later ahead of the vote of confidence scheduled for 20 March 2008. The Governor then invited the head of the UDP

United Democratic Party (Meghalaya)

The United Democratic Party is a political party recognised in Meghalaya state, India. It is led by Donkupar Roy....

Donkupar Roy

Donkupar Roy is an Indian politician, formerly serving as Chief Minister of Meghalaya. He is the head of the United Democratic Party, a political party recognised in Meghalaya....

to form the Government with the support of the MPA

Meghalaya Progressive Alliance

coalition who claimed support of 31 of the 60 seats in the Assembly. This included 14 seats from NCP

Nationalist Congress Party

The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...

, 11 from UDP

United Democratic Party (Meghalaya)

The United Democratic Party is a political party recognised in Meghalaya state, India. It is led by Donkupar Roy....

, 2 from Hill State People's Democratic Party(HPDP)

Hill State People's Democratic Party

The Hill State People's Democratic Party is a political party of the Indian state of Meghalaya. Its president is H.S. Lyngdoh. Its symbol is a lion....

, 1 from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Bharatiya Janata Party

The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...

, 1 from Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM)

Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement

The Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement is a political party formed recently in Meghalaya, India. Its president and leader is Mr. P. Lyngdoh, a former student’s union leader...

and 2 independents

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

Background

The previous elections

State Assembly elections in India, 2003

-Chhattisgarh:Party No. of candidates No. of elected No. of votes %Bharatiya Janata Party 90 50 378991439,26%Bahujan Samaj Party 54 2 429334 4,45%Communist Party of India 18 0 1037761.08%...

to the 7th Meghalaya Legislative Assembly

Meghalaya Legislative Assembly

was held in 2003 and the term for this Assembly was set to expire on 10 March 2008. Hence, the Election Commission of India (ECI)

Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India...

announced fresh elections to the 8th Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on 14 January 2008. Of the 60 ACs in Tripura, 55 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Elections in all polling station

Polling station

A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...

s were held using EVMs

Indian voting machines

Electronic Voting Machines are beingused in Indian General and State Elections to implement electronic voting in part from 1999 elections and in total since 2002 elections...

.

After the 2003 elections to the 7th Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, the INC

Indian National Congress

led MDA

Meghalaya Democratic Alliance

formed the Government under the leadership of INC's D. D. Lapang. The members of the MDA were INC (22 seats), UDP (9 seats), Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP)

Meghalaya Democratic Party

(4 seats) and 3 independents. By 2006, Lapang faced revolt within the INC and the party took the decision to replace him as the Chief Minister. On 15 June 2006, Lapang resigned and his protege J. D. Rymbai

J. Dringwell Rymbai

J. Dringwell Rymbai is a politician from Meghalaya, India.Born in a poor family, he had to discontinue education during his graduation. He became an assistant teacher in a government school. He later obtained a graduate degree as well as a degree in education...

was sworn in as the new Chief Minister by the Governor of Manipur S. S. Sidhu

Shivinder Singh Sidhu

Shivinder Singh Sidhu is an Indian political figure, currently serving as Governor of Goa.He was earlier an IAS officer of 1952 batch belonging to the Uttar Pradesh cadre. While in the state, he served as the District Magistrate of Kanpur and subsequently as Commissioner of Agra Division...

, who administered the oath of office on behalf of Governor M. M. Jacob who was on leave. However, the conflict within the INC did not end there and both Lapang and Rymbai continued to claim majority support among the Congress Legislative Party

Legislative Party

In India, the members of Parliament or Vidhan Sabhas that belong to a particular political party are known as the Legislative Party. For example, the Congress Party's legislators are known as the Congress Legislative Party or CLP...

(CLP). After 8 months in control of the Government, Rymbai was asked by the Congress high command to resign. Lapang was reelected as the leader of the Meghalaya CLP and was reinstated as Chief Minister by Governor M. M. Jacob on 10 March 2007. This time Lapang held onto the post until the completion of the term of the 7th Meghalaya Assembly.

Campaign

In this election the INC

Indian National Congress

was battling not just the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Bharatiya Janata Party

, but also its former MDA

Meghalaya Democratic Alliance

partners UDP

United Democratic Party (Meghalaya)

The United Democratic Party is a political party recognised in Meghalaya state, India. It is led by Donkupar Roy....

and MDP

Meghalaya Democratic Party

. In addition, the NCP

Nationalist Congress Party

The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...

, a United Progressive Alliance (UPA)

United Progressive Alliance

The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...

partner at the Centre, was also contesting against the INC in Meghalaya. Under the leadership of P. A. Sangma

P. A. Sangma

Purno Agitok Sangma is an Indian politician. He is a former Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chief Minister of Meghalaya. He was a co-founder of the Nationalist Congress Party and remained a member of the Lok Sabha for eight terms, i.e. 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th Lok Sabha...

(who gave up national politics in favour of state politics before the elections), the NCP was expected to provide the most stiff competition to the INC.

Elections in the constiuency of Baghmara were postponed to 22 March 2008 on count of the death of the sitting INC MLA S. Sangma.

A total of 331 candidates contested the remaining 59 seats up for election. Romgram had the toughest fight with 11 contestants, while Jaiaw had only 2 contestants.

Election Day

Election Day (3 Mar 2008) was largely peaceful across the state. However, there was one incident of violence that claimed the life of an INC worker when clashses broke out between supporters of INC & NCP at Selsella in the Garo Hills

Garo Hills

The Garo Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. They are inhabited mainly by tribal dwellers. Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, is located in this range. It is one of the wettest places in the world. The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion.Garo Hills...

area of the state.

Voter turnout

Voter turnout

Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...

of 89.05% was a record for the state. High voter turnout was reported from almost all rural constituencies. Voter turnout for the Baghmara seat on 22 Mar 2008 was 88.50%.
Combined voter turnout across the state was 89.44%.

Results

Performance of the political parties in this election
Party	Seats Contested	Seats Won	No. of Votes	% of Votes	% in Seats contested	Seats Forfeited
Bharatiya Janata Party Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...	23	1	29.465	2.71%	7.04%	21
Communist Party of India Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...	3	0	282	0.03%	0.53%	3
Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...	59	25	357,113	32.88%	32.88%	9
Nationalist Congress Party Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...	49	14	221,341	20.38%	24.32%	15
Lok Janshakti Party Lok Janshakti Party The Lok Jan Shakti Party is a state political party in the state Bihar , India. It is led by Ram Vilas Paswan. The party was formed in 2000 when Paswan split from Janata Dal . The party has considerable following amongst Dalits in Bihar. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections marked a major break-through for...	18	0	6,827	0.63%	2.02%	18
Meghalaya Democratic Party Meghalaya Democratic Party The Meghalaya Democratic Party is a political party recognised in the India state of Meghalaya. Its symbol is the bicycle, and chief is M.D. Mukhim. The MDF is aligned neither with the NDA nor with the UPA....	18	0	30,691	2.83%	8.82%	15
United Democratic Party United Democratic Party (Meghalaya) The United Democratic Party is a political party recognised in Meghalaya state, India. It is led by Donkupar Roy....	53	11	201,976	18.60%	20.49%	21
Garo National Council Garo National Council Garo National Council, a political party in Meghalaya in north-eastern India. The party fights for the creation of a Garo state, to be carved out of three districts of Meghalaya, West Garo Hills, East Garo Hills and South Garo Hills. The Garoland demand of GNC is different from that of the...	4	0	4,081	0.38%	6.65%	3
Hill State People's Democratic Party Hill State People's Democratic Party The Hill State People's Democratic Party is a political party of the Indian state of Meghalaya. Its president is H.S. Lyngdoh. Its symbol is a lion....	15	2	42,235	3.89%	13.97%	10
Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement The Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement is a political party formed recently in Meghalaya, India. Its president and leader is Mr. P. Lyngdoh, a former student’s union leader...	16	1	48,833	4.50%	16.88%	9
Independents Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	73	5	143,122	13.18%	25.22%	55
Total	331	59	1,085,966			179

Note: The above results are only for 59 seats. The results of Baghmara constituency is not included as elections in Baghmara were postponed.

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