Cong rushes top 2 leaders to Meghalaya as it heads for hung assembly

New Delhi: With election trends projecting that the Congress could emerge as the single-largest party in Meghalaya, the party on Saturday rushed two senior leaders to the northeastern state to explore possibilities of forming a government.

According to sources, senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and Kamal Nath left for Shillong this morning to work out possible tie-ups with independents in Meghalaya to form a government there.

Even as the Congress is currently leading, the game has taken an interesting turn with the BJP thinking of forming the government with UDP and NPP.

The Congress, seeking re-election in Meghalaya, a little over noon was leading the board ahead in 22 seats, nine short of the majority target of 31 in the 60-seat assembly. It was followed by the NPP in 16 and the BJP in eight seats.

Read also: NE poll results: BJP set to take Tripura; Cong-BJP tug-of-war in Meghalaya

The Congress's move comes in the wake of criticism in the past that the party was caught “napping” in Goa and Manipur, where despite emerging as the single-largest party it failed to form governments there. They are in no mood to take chances this time.

The Congress currently rules Meghalaya and is set to emerge as the single largest party in the state, according to trends available for most of the seats in the state.

Polling for 59 seats of the 60-member Assembly was held on February 27.

Sources said Patel and Nath would land in Shillong post noon and will hold discussions with party leaders there, including outgoing chief minister Mukul Sangma.

Meghalaya is one of the five states currently held by the Congress. The other states are Punjab, Karnataka, Mizoram and Puducherry.