One political party that has not received much mention in the results of the Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Councils (KHADC and JHADC) elections is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which did not win any seats.
Though disappointing for party members, this zero tally would have been on expected lines given the poor standing of the BJP in Meghalaya in general but especially among the tribal population. However, the scale of the defeat should give the Hindu nationalist party something to seriously consider.
As it happens, the NOTA (none of the above) option proved more popular for voters in West Khasi Hills than the BJP.
In Nongstoin, NOTA beat the BJP candidate Demendar Lyngdoh by 33 votes. NOTA outperformed the BJP’s Dominic Wahlang by 118 votes in Rambrai-Jyrngam and by 50 votes in Mawshynrut against the BJP’s Roland Mawsor.
