SHILLONG: When D D Lapang took the Chief Minister's oath of office and secrecy in the presence of Governor R S Mooshahary on Wednesday, he became the head of the 21st government Meghalaya has witnessed in 37 years of statehood.
In last 37 years, the state's chief ministership has rotated between ten political leaders, with only two of them, late Captain W A Sangma and Congress leader S C Marak, being able to complete the full five year term.
Never in the history of Meghalaya, except during the first Assembly elections, has any political party obtained clear majority.
With frequent toppling of governments marking the state's political history, the previous 20 governments saw a musical chair of ten chief ministers some serving the state for as short as 10 days.
Lapang, who has been sworn in for the fifth time on Wednesday, did so from March 10, 2008 to March 19, 2008.
Interestingly, the state has never witnessed a mid-term poll despite the frequent change of governments.
While the toppling game was a hallmark till the early 1990s when the Anti-Defection Law did not exist, the highly fragile political situation in the state could be gauged with the state having witnessed nine governments with varied combinations of political parties during the last decade.
After the March 2008 Assembly elections, Lapang was sworn-in as chief minister of a Congress-led coalition government, but resigned 10 days later, just before a trust vote, after failing to muster a majority.
Subsequently, the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) government, comprising five political parties including NCP, headed by United Democratic Party (UDP) president Donkupar Roy assumed charge.
The Congress has not been an untouchable to the varied smaller parties in the state as almost all of them, many of which are defunct now, had a stint in the government along with the Congress.
Now, with the Congress tying up with the UDP after failure of negotiations with the NCP, to form the government, it remains to be seen how long the new alliance remains intact.
Source:TOI
In last 37 years, the state's chief ministership has rotated between ten political leaders, with only two of them, late Captain W A Sangma and Congress leader S C Marak, being able to complete the full five year term.
Never in the history of Meghalaya, except during the first Assembly elections, has any political party obtained clear majority.
With frequent toppling of governments marking the state's political history, the previous 20 governments saw a musical chair of ten chief ministers some serving the state for as short as 10 days.
Lapang, who has been sworn in for the fifth time on Wednesday, did so from March 10, 2008 to March 19, 2008.
Interestingly, the state has never witnessed a mid-term poll despite the frequent change of governments.
While the toppling game was a hallmark till the early 1990s when the Anti-Defection Law did not exist, the highly fragile political situation in the state could be gauged with the state having witnessed nine governments with varied combinations of political parties during the last decade.
After the March 2008 Assembly elections, Lapang was sworn-in as chief minister of a Congress-led coalition government, but resigned 10 days later, just before a trust vote, after failing to muster a majority.
Subsequently, the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) government, comprising five political parties including NCP, headed by United Democratic Party (UDP) president Donkupar Roy assumed charge.
The Congress has not been an untouchable to the varied smaller parties in the state as almost all of them, many of which are defunct now, had a stint in the government along with the Congress.
Now, with the Congress tying up with the UDP after failure of negotiations with the NCP, to form the government, it remains to be seen how long the new alliance remains intact.
Source:TOI
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