NPP tops a fragmented Meghalaya field
The National People's Party finished on top in a crowded Meghalaya election, with no single party winning a majority.
NPP tops a fragmented Meghalaya field
What happened
National Peoples Party won the most seats in Meghalaya, edging past a fragmented field with no majority for any single party.
It took 26 of the 60 seats.
That came on 31.0% of the vote.
The United Democratic Party followed with 12 seats.
It polled 16.8% of the vote.
The campaign
P A Sangma founded the National People's Party on 6 January 2013, after leaving the Nationalist Congress Party. It grew into the lead partner of Meghalaya's governing coalition from 2018 and went into 2023 as the state's largest single party.1
A new regional party, the Voice of the People Party, was formed in November 2021 under Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, going on to contest 18 seats. Former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and 11 other Congress legislators also defected to the Trinamool Congress that November, making it the largest opposition party.23
The Election Commission announced the poll schedule on 18 January 2023, setting voting for 27 February and counting for 2 March. Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee opened her campaign the same day in Mendipathar, calling the state government 'a proxy government from Delhi.' On 23 January, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma launched the NPP's campaign, dismissing Trinamool as 'an outsider party in Meghalaya.'456
Mukul Sangma himself contested from two constituencies, Songsak and Tikrikilla, as a Trinamool candidate. The Election Commission also banned exit polls from 16 February through 27 February, covering the state's own polling day.78
- 1National People's Party founded, later dominates Meghalaya — National People's Party (India), 2023 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election
- 2Voice of the People Party Founded, Contests 18 Seats in 2023 — Voice of the People Party (Meghalaya), Voice of the People Party (Meghalaya)
- 3Mukul Sangma and 11 Congress MLAs Defect to Trinamool Congress — All India Trinamool Congress
- 4Election Commission Announces 2023 Meghalaya Assembly Poll Schedule — 2023 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election
- 5Mamata Banerjee Opens TMC's Meghalaya Campaign, Calls State Government a Delhi Proxy — 2023 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election
- 6Conrad Sangma Launches NPP Campaign, Calls TMC an Outsider Party — 2023 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election
- 7Mukul Sangma Contests 2023 Election From Two Constituencies for TMC — Mukul Sangma
- 8Election Commission Bans Exit Polls Through Meghalaya Polling Period — 2023 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election
What changed
Indian National Congress saw its position collapse, with NPP moving into the lead instead.
NPP itself grew from 19 to 26 seats this time.
Even after growing, NPP still fell short of a majority on its own, taking 43.3% of the seats.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, slipped -1.1 pp from the previous election.
Notable numbers
Rajabala, Meghalaya saw the tightest finish of the election: the margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — was 10 votes.
South Shillong, Meghalaya saw the widest margin, with the winner finishing 53.7% of the vote ahead of the runner-up.
Amlarem, Meghalaya recorded the highest turnout of any seat, 99.0%.
NOTA — None of the Above, a ballot option letting voters formally reject every candidate on offer — drew 15,114 votes statewide, 0.8% of the total.
The backdrop
Meghalaya became a separate state on 21 January 1972, carved from Assam's Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills districts, and its first Assembly election followed weeks later that March.9
- 9Meghalaya becomes a state; first Assembly election — North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971, 1972 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election