Meghalaya district council polls: Ruling NPP unseated in Khasi hills but is single largest party in Jaintia

There are three autonomous district councils in Meghalaya under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution: the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council. Last week, elections were held to the KHADC and the JHADC, the results for which were declared Monday.

In the KHADC, the VPP won 17 out of 29 seats, regional party United Democratic Party won five seats, the NPP won four, the Hill State People’s Democratic Party won one, and two Independents won. The Congress has drawn a blank.

In the JHADC, the NPP won 13 seats, the VPP eight, the UDP and Congress three seats each and two Independents won. Although NPP emerged as the single largest party, it still fell short of the halfway mark of 15.

The BJP, however, was not able to win a single seat in either of the tribal councils, continuing its difficult run in the state. It has only two seats of the 60 in the Meghalaya legislative assembly but is part of the government led by its ally NPP.

The VPP – which was founded in 2021 – has emerged as a regional force in Meghalaya’s Khasi hills over the years. After winning four seats in its electoral debut in the 2023 Meghalaya legislative assembly election, it had pulled off a big win last year by winning the Shillong Lok Sabha seat in a landslide victory.