Meghalaya CM-elect Conrad Sangma has rejected the allegations of horse-trading levied by senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
Kharge had earlier said that Congress should have been invited to form the government first as it was the single largest party. "Opportunity must be given to the single largest party. If it can't prove majority then party at the second position could be invited. BJP had won only 2 seats. They converted that 2 to 30. They broke off our party supporters and took them with them. Governor shouldn't agree to this, they can't be the single largest party," Kharge told media.
In response, Meghalaya CM-elect said that Kharge's statement was baseless. "If we have given a list of 34 supporting candidates, how can our claim be unconstitutional? allegations of horsetrading are completing unfounded," Conrad told India TV on Sunday night.
The NPP leader said that Congress had also approached his party for an alliance but it was impossible as they contested elections on anti-Congress planks. "They did not even drop Mukul Sangma, so there was no question of going with Congress," Conrad added.
BJP may have won only two seats but its efforts to orchestrate a non-Congress alliance will go a long way for NPP and it would not hurt to have the ruling party at the Centre on your side. "We will certainly benefit from PM Modi's Leadership," Conrad said.
Meghalaya Assembly Elections grabbed more attention after they were over than during the campaigns. The hung assembly, returned by the voters on Saturday, resulted in a day of heavy political activity on Sunday as the regional parties kept the cards close to their hearts in hope of playing the kingmaker till the last minute.
Congress, which emerged as the single largest party with 21 seats, failed to woo smaller parties like UDP (6 seats) or IPFT (4 seats) despite their indecisive attitude towards the non-Congress alliance brought together by the BJP leadership.
In the end, NPP-led coalition stake the claim to form the government with the support of 34 candidates.
