Conrad Sangma sworn in as 12th Meghalaya CM

Guwahati: Backed by the BJP and regional parties, National People’s Party (NPP) chief Conrad Sangma was on Tuesday sworn in as the 12th chief minister of Meghalaya, bringing an end to 10 years of Congress rule. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by governor Ganga Prasad.

Son of former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma, Conrad is currently a Lok Sabha member from Tura.

According to power sharing formula, UDP leader and former chief minister Donkupar Roy is likely to be the new Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.

Along with Mr Sangma, 11 other legislators of the newly-formed Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government were administered the oath of office and secrecy as Cabinet ministers.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president Amit Shah, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, Manipur CM N. Biren Singh, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and designated Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio among others were present at the swearing-in ceremony in the lawns of the Raj Bhavan. BJP’s key strategist in the Northeast Himanta Bishwa Sarma was also present.

Admitting that heading a coalition government is a “challenging task”, the newly sworn-in chief minister appealed to all the members of the ruling alliance to work together as a team to ensure that Meghalaya reached its new heights. “The real challenge and the real work starts now. All MLAs of different political parties must work together and in that we may face several challenges but we are confident to overcome these hurdles,” Mr Sangma told reporters.