With the National People’s Party (NPP) winning 18 seats in Garo Hills, it seems highly unlikely that anyone other than a Garo will be the next Chief Minister of Meghalaya.
Before the election, Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong had said that it would be up to the party MLAs to decide on whether a Garo or a Khasi is chosen for the post in the new government. Seeing the writing clearly on the wall, Tynsong today said that he does not like to see the issue in “communal” terms of this tribe or that.
Meanwhile, Tynsong, who retained his Pynursla seat comfortably, expressed a little disappointment that the NPP did not win the election outright.
“We are a little disappointed that we were not able to cross the halfway mark but I thank the voters of the state who still have faith in us,” he told reporters after being declared winner of his constituency.
He remained coy about working with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) again, though he hinted that all would be forgiven by the NPP; the BJP had led the way in criticism of the NPP during the campaign, accusing it of rampant corruption. On these allegations, Tynsong stated that in a battlefield one has to apply all strategies.
