Saleng Sangma’s election to the Lok Sabha from the Tura Parliamentary seat could have ramifications in the Meghalaya Assembly as the numbers between the three opposition parties are quite small.
Saleng represented Gambegre in the Assembly and the Congressman was also the Opposition Chief Whip. However, on his election to Parliament, he had to relinquish his Assembly seat, which will be filled in due course via a by-election.
With his resignation, the Congress Party now has just four legislators in the Assembly, tied with the Voice of the People Party (VPP) and behind the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has five. The Congress, through Ronnie Lyngdoh, also holds the Leader of the Opposition title.
Today, Assembly Speaker Thomas Sangma informed that he has not received any request to change the Leader of the Opposition (now that the Congress has fewer legislators than the TMC), although the matter is being studied by Assembly officials. There has similarly been no decision taken or representations received on who the new Opposition Chief Whip should be.
He also received an interesting tidbit of information, namely that the Congress’s Ronnie and Saleng had been chosen in their roles based on the assumption that the VPP supported them.
None of the three opposition parties had the numbers to lay claim to the Leader of the Opposition or Opposition Chief Whip positions on their own; parties are usually expected to have 10 members in the 60-seat house.
The TMC and Congress were averse to supporting each other and the VPP had pledged that it would sit alone in the Assembly. However, today, the Speaker said that a letter had been received from the VPP president expressing support for Saleng as Opposition Chief Whip, leading to the assumption that the Congress had the VPP’s backing.
