Benedict Marak, the National People’s Party (NPP) choice for leader of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), won the vote for the position of Chief Executive Member by defeating the Congress challenger today. His support included that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is otherwise not a member of the NPP-led Garo Hills Democratic Coalition (GHDC).
Benedict defeated Sadhiarani M Sangma of the Congress by 16 votes to 12.
The development comes a day after questions were raised over the absence of Tura BJP MDC, Bernard Marak, during the vote for the election of the Chairman of the new GHADC, which was also won by the NPP-led coalition on similar numbers. Rakesh Sangma became the Chairman by defeating Cherak W Momin of the Congress.
Today’s vote saw the presence of the BJP leader, who also voted for the coalition candidate, leading to the 16-12 vote divide. The Chairman was thus not required to deliver a casting vote.
The formation of the executive committee is now next on the agenda for the newly-formed coalition.
The recent election saw the Congress become the single largest party with 12 members to the NPP’s 11. However, with no party aligning with the Congress in the formation of the EC, the NPP was easily able to cobble together the required numbers, despite the initial reluctance of the Tura MDC to support the coalition without being given the role of the CEM.
