As a state used to coalition governments and the unshakable loyalty of its politicians, Meghalaya had at least a third of its 60 legislators during the five-year term of the outgoing assembly. Even for the elections scheduled for February 27, a National People’s Party (NPP) candidate switched sides to become a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, and a Congress candidate joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) . In 2018, Congress won 21 seats, NPP 20, BJP 2 and regional parties and independents won the rest. Meghalaya is the only state out of the three northeastern states where elections are now being held where the Congress has a chance to fight. The party, once the main political force in Meghalaya, has no legislators, although it was the single largest party in 2018. The BJP is contesting all 60 seats in the hope of reaching double-digit figures. The TMC, which became the state’s opposition party overnight after 12 Congress MLAs switched sides in November 2021, is fielding 55 candidates. The most dominant regional entity, the United Democratic Party, is contesting 46 seats. The politics of the state is driven by the dynamics of three matrilineal tribes – the Khasi and Jaintia tribes who are ethnically close, and the Garo tribe who held the chief minister’s chair for 34 years since the state’s formation 50 years ago.
The Garos have often demanded a separate state, although this time the demand has been somewhat muted. The Khasi-Jaintia Hills comprise 36 of the state’s 60 seats and the Garo Hills 24. The ruling NPP and main rival TMC are locked in a face-off in Garo Hills, where the contest is fiercest. The issue of Bangladeshi immigrants, a major plank of the Assam elections, entered Meghalaya this time with the NPP and the BJP trying to portray the TMC as a Bengali party sympathetic to India’s neighbour. The TMC and its allies have been accusing the NPP of misgovernance and rampant corruption in power, health, education, PDS and other sectors, besides an “unbalanced” agreement with Assam to resolve border disputes. In trying to pin the entire blame on the NPP, the allies have washed their hands of the record of the government they have been a part of. Allies say the NPP made decisions and never consulted them on any issue. Allies in the outgoing government are contesting against it, each trying to increase their strength in the assembly and keep their post-poll options open.