Lapang out, Rymbai is new Meghalaya CM

Meghalaya Chief Minister DD Lapang resigned from the post today. JD Rymbai has taken over the reins of the Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance.

Meghalaya Chief Minister DD Lapang resigned from the post today. JD Rymbai has taken over the reins of the Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA). He was administered the oath of office by Governor SS Sidhu at the Raj Bhavan this evening, thus bringing the curtains down on the fortnight-long turmoil in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) here. Twenty out of the 29 CLP members had been seeking removal of Lapang, who had completed three years as CM.

Defence Minister and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee was present at the swearing in. Lapang resigned after his return from New Delhi, where he had been summoned by AICC president Sonia Gandhi. After her meeting with Lapang and AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes last night, Sonia sent Mukherjee, along with Fernandes and AICC observer Ved Prakash to Shillong.

They reached Shillong this afternoon with Lapang and went into a huddle with state Congress legislators.

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A special CLP meeting was convened where Lapang submitted his resignation and Rymbai was elected the new CLP leader. Mukherjee told reporters here that the transfer of leadership from Lapang to Rymbai at the CLP meeting was smooth and unanimous. With Rymbai’s elevation to the CM post, Mukherjee hoped that factionalism within the Congress in Meghalaya would be over.

Talking about the role of coalition partners, he said he had telephonic conversations with the leaders of the coalition parties and the arrangement would be the same as it had been under Lapang. Mukherjee also met with leaders of coalition partners today.

Coalition partners, the United Democratic Party (UDP) and the Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP) got two Cabinet berths today. UDP chief and outgoing Deputy CM in under Lapang, Donkupar Roy and MDP president Martle N Mukhim were sworn in as Cabinet ministers.

Roy said the regional parties would continue to support the Congress. He said the choice of CM was an internal matter of the Congress party. He hoped that the new CM would give adequate representation to the coalition allies in his Cabinet.The coalition led by the Congress has regional parties, UDP, MDP, Hills State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM).

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