Guwahati: Chief minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma and Chief minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio met with Home Minister Amit Shah on March 13 to talk about their intentions for the upcoming term after entering office on March 7. Both chief ministers are in charge of a coalition administration that includes the BJP.
Amit Shah wished the newly appointed CMs luck and expressed his hope that the new government led by PM Narendra Modi would be successful in achieving the goals of the people of their states. He wished the two chief ministers success on their path to prosperity and congratulated them on taking the oath of office for another term.
National People’s Party after his party won 26 seats out of 60 in the most recent election, Sangma was elected to his second straight term in office. The BJP, HSPDP and People’s Democratic Front (PDF) each received two seats while the UDP won 11 seats. Two other independent members also offered Sangma their assistance.
Since its partners are nearly identical to those of the prior coalition, Meghalaya’s ruling alliance chose to call itself the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance 2.0.
Along with Neiphiu Rio who was elected as the chief minister for the fifth time, T R Zeliang of the NDPP and Yanthungo Patton of the BJP assumed leadership as the state’s deputy chief ministers. In 2003, Rio was appointed chief minister of Nagaland heading the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland administration comprised of the BJP and the Naga People’s Front (NPF). In 2008 and 2013, he was elected chief minister once more but in 2014 he stepped down and entered the Lok Sabha. In 2018, he was elected chief minister once more.
With his fifth term Rio has surpassed S C Jamir’s mark for the most terms as chief minister of Nagaland, who held the position from 1980, 1982–86, 1989–90 and twice in a row from 1993–2003.
The BJP which is a part of the governing coalition in both states played a significant role in forming the government following the recent elections in both states.
The newly appointed chief ministers thanked Amit Shah for his support and blessings and gave him their word that they would work to realize the goals of the people in their states.