MPA candidate bags Dy Speaker post, but margin 145;worrisome146;

Meghalaya Progressive Alliance candidate and NCP legislator Sanbor Shullai scraped through during the election...

Meghalaya Progressive Alliance MPA candidate and NCP legislator Sanbor Shullai scraped through during the election of the Meghalaya Deputy Speaker by a solitary vote on Monday. He defeated Meghalaya United Alliance MUA candidate and Congress legislator Lakhem Rymbui.

In the 60-member Assembly, Shullai got a total of 28 votes to Rymbui8217;s 27. Interestingly, the NCP-United Democratic Party UDP led MPA coalition Government has 32 member as against 28 eight of the Congress-led Opposition coalition, MUA. The Assembly Speaker doesn8217;t vote except in a case of a tie.

The four votes that were found to be invalid pointed to the fact that both the candidates didn8217;t enjoy complete support within their own camps.

Senior leaders of the MPA and MUA feel that the four invalid votes were intentional. 8220;There are many new legislators, still all the votes during the Speaker8217;s election were found to be valid. So, how come four votes were invalid today?8221; a Congress leader questioned, and quipped: 8220;The MPA candidate could garner only 28 votes when they have 32 members in a 60-member Assembly.8221; He said that Monday8217;s outcome of the Deputy Speaker election is an indication of the fate that awaits the MPA Government, and hints that it might be toppled.

Earlier, the MPA had rejected the Congress8217;s demand for evolving a consensus and 8216;gifting8217; the deputy speaker post to Rymbui. The NCP leaders had said that the Congress had no right to make a demand for a consensus in favour of the Opposition8217;s candidate, as its previous Government had not followed the convention of making a opposition member the Deputy Speaker.

In fact, NCP leader and State Planning Board chairman Purno A Sangma had said that the MPA had offered the Congress two posts of chairman if the party withdrew Rymbui8217;s candidature.

Reacting angrily to Sangma8217;s claim, Congress Legislature Party spokesman R C Lalu said: 8220;Our party will not accept any such cheap offer.8221; Sangma, however, said that the MPA made the offer as it wanted to utilise the service of the Congress legislators.