Meghalaya Assembly Election results: BJP says it will 'inspire' regional parties to form non-Congress government

Shillong: The BJP on Saturday said that it will “inspire” the regional parties to respect the public mandate and form the non-Congress government in Meghalaya. “We have less role to play in the formation of the new government but we will inspire the regional parties and the NPP (National People’s Party) to come together and form the new government,” Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The BJP, which contested in 47 seats, won only two. [caption id=“attachment_4371757” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Himanta Biswa Sarma. Twitter @himantabiswa[/caption] Noting that he has already spoken to the leadership of the United Democratic Party (UDP), the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) and the NPP to come together, Sarma said: “I don’t know what is the stage of the negotiations; the BJP’s role will only be to encourage them to form the government - this is a verdict against the Congress.” The NPP won 19 seats, while the UDP-HSPDP pre-poll alliance won only eight. The newly floated PDF has won four seats while the Nationalist Congress Party and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement secured one seat each. The ruling Congress emerged as the single largest party with 21 seats in the 60-member house, 10 shorts of the 31 seats needed to retain power. “It is a fractured mandate. Now it is a question of looking at people who would like to look at common agenda acceptable to the state’s people and come together,” outgoing Chief Minister Mukul Sangma told IANS. Sangma, retained Ampati seat for the sixth consecutive term and unseated two-time National People’s Party (NPP) candidate Nihim D Shira in Songsak. Asked if the Congress had sent feelers to other parties and independents to form the new government, Sangma said: “All parties have gone on their own and the regional parties have not shown any pre-poll alliance either with the Bharatiya Janata Party or the NPP.” The Congress has already parachuted its two senior leaders Ahmed Patel and Mukul Wasnik to try and form the new government in Meghalaya.