The National People’s Party is leading in the Meghalaya elections over the old horses from the national arena, such as the Congress and the BJP. Formed in 2013, the party only gained national status in 2019, becoming the first party from North East India to have gained this status. The party was founded by a respected leader from the North East region, P.A. Sangma.
The incumbent Chief Minister from Meghalaya : Conrad Sangma
More About PA Sangma
Sangma was one of the most respected politicians from North Eastern India. He made it to the national reckoning by working for the Congress party for the majority of his political career. After serving as a Chief Minister for Meghalaya, he was also appointed as the speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1996-1998.
Sangma was one of the three giant leaders who were expelled from the Indian National Congress in 1999, for raising questions over Sonia Gandhi’s nationality. Sangma, along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar founded the Nationalist Congress Party.
P.A. Sangma. Credits – The Hindu
However, his journey with the NCP was not smooth either, as he often found himself against Pawar over ideological viewpoints. There was an effort to split the NCP in 2004, as Sangma was unhappy with Pawar’s close relations with their former boss, Sonia Gandhi.
Finally, in 2013, Sangma launched a new party from his home state, the National People’s Party. The party tasted limited success in its first election, as it was only able to win two seats in the 2013 Meghalaya Legislative elections.
Suspension of the party
Did you know that NPP is the first political party to get suspended by the Election Commission of India? The party was not able to provide for its expenditure during the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, and thus it was suspended by EC, following an unprecedented decision.
NPP with the BJP
In 2016, the NPP joined an alliance called the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) which was led by the BJP. The current CM of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma was appointed convenor of the same.
NEDA Alliance
In the 2018 assembly elections, the NPP won 19 seats in the state, which was still less than the Indian National Congress, which had emerged as the single largest party. However, NEDA collectively had a greater majority than Congress. Conrad Sanmga from the NPP was appointed as the Chief Minister of the state, following the historic results.
