Trinamool Congress leader and former chief minister Dr. Mukul Sangma is set to become the new leader of opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
The official appointment of Dr. Sangma to the post is expected to be issued in a day or two, sources in the Assembly Secretariat said today.
Moreover, former leader of opposition Ronnie V. Lyngdoh is likely to be appointed as the Opposition chief whip in the Assembly.
Today, five MLAs of the Trinamool Congress led by Dr. Sangma along with Lyngdoh of the Congress met Speaker Thomas Sangma at his office chamber to physically prove their claim for the two posts.
“As it is, they have the required number,” the Speaker said today, adding that the Trinamool Congress along with Lyngdoh have also submitted a formal petition to him on the matter.
Dr. Sangma’s claim for the post of leader of opposition came a day after Lyngdoh resigned from the post following Congress getting reduced to just one MLA in the 60-member House.
As per rules, the Opposition’s number should be one tenth (six MLAs) in the Meghalaya Assembly in order to be able to claim the post of leader of opposition.
Therefore, with five Trinamool Congress MLAs and one from Congress jointly supporting the claim, the deck is cleared for Dr. Sangma to be appointed as the leader of opposition in the House.
This will be the second time that Dr. Sangma is appointed as leader of opposition in the State Assembly. Earlier, he held the post since November 2021 to 2023.
Meanwhile, Ronnie V. Lyngdoh while expressing his support for Dr. Sangma for the post of leader of opposition said that the post cannot be left vacant as there are many things that required the involvement of the opposition leader.
He cited the State Security Commission as one of the examples where the leader of opposition must be a member.
“Dr. Sangma is the senior most MLA from the Opposition so I have decided to support him for the post of leader of opposition. At the same time, the Trinamool Congress MLAs also agreed to support mef for the post of Opposition chief whip. The decision now lies with the Speaker,” Lyngdoh said.
After the recent joining of three Congress MLAs to the NPP, the strength of the Opposition bench in the Assembly has been reduced to ten. These include five from Trinamool Congress, four from VPP and one from Congress.
