New Delhi: National People’s Party (NPP) chief Conrad Sangma on Tuesday (March 7, 2023) took oath as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second consecutive term.
Sangma, whose party won 26 seats in the February 27 elections, took oath along with other cabinet ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda and other senior leaders.
Swearing-in ceremony of new Meghalaya government in Shillong. https://t.co/EIhU1uEJO2
— BJP (@BJP4India) March 7, 2023
Sangma has eight ministers from his party in the new Meghalaya government headed by him, while its allies have four ministerial berths.
While NPP’s ally UDP has two ministers, the BJP and the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) have one each.
According to the rule, Meghalaya with a 60-member assembly cannot have more than 12 ministers including the CM.
The NPP president currently has the support of 45 legislators.
Handed over the letter of support to Hon’ble Governor, Sh. Shri Phagu Chauhan Ji from UDP and PDF to form the Government in alliance with the NPP . pic.twitter.com/a1spSGX3KQ— Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) March 6, 2023
On Monday, Sangma had said that the name of the ruling coalition’s Speaker candidate will be announced after further consultation with allies.
The NPP became the single-largest party winning 26 seats in the recently held Meghalaya Assembly polls.
The UDP bagged 11 seats while the BJP, HSPDP, and the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) got two seats each. Besides them, two Independent members also extended support to Sangma.
Earlier on Monday, the newly elected members of the Meghalaya assembly also took the oath with pro-tem speaker Timothy D Shira administering the oath of office and secrecy to them.
Glimpses of the oath taking ceremony of Hon’ble MLAs to the 11th Meghalaya Assembly.
It is the faith of the people that has led us this far. Proud to represent South Tura Constituency as their MLA. My best wishes to all fellow MLAs.
To God be the glory. pic.twitter.com/Wfohb0cSuw— Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) March 6, 2023
Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma fought his first election in 2004
US and UK-trained Conrad Sangma, who now runs the NPP formed by his father PA Sangma, had fought his first election in 2004, which resulted in a narrow defeat. However, since then, the 45-year-old has emerged as a powerful politician in his father’s mould, growing stronger by the election.
Elected for the first time as an MLA in 2008, Sangma who did his MBA in finance had served as the finance minister till 2009.
He was the Leader of the Opposition from 2009 to 2013 when Mukul Sangma became the chief minister of the Congress government.
In 2015, he ensured the victory of his party in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council Election.
The next year saw the death of his father, a former Lok Sabha Speaker, and he became the president of the NPP.
Conrad Sangma was elected to Lok Sabha in 2016
In 2016, Conrad Sangma was also elected to the Lok Sabha in a by-poll from Tura, but two years later, he was back at the helm of Meghalaya.
Apart from politics, he also serves as president of the PA Sangma Foundation which runs four colleges in rural Meghalaya.
Conrad Sangma did his schooling from Delhi’s St Columba’s School
Conrad Sangma did his schooling at Delhi’s St Columba’s School.
He also has a BBA degree in entrepreneurial management from the University of Pennsylvania and did his MBA in finance from Imperial College, University of London.
The NPP supremo is married to a doctor Mehtab Chandee.