Shillong, March 6: Conrad Sangma, the 40-year-old chief of the National People's Party (NPP) was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Meghalaya on Tuesday. Sangma, who leads BJP ally the NPP (National People's Party) took charge as the 12th chief minister of Meghalaya with a rare alliance of five parties, namely the National People’s Party, United Democratic Party (UDP), People’s Democratic Front, Hill State People’s Democratic Party, the BJP. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh were present at the oath ceremony in state capital Shillong.

The next two days are important for Sangma as the Assembly term will culminate on March 7.  On Saturday, Meghalaya threw up a fractured mandate. where the Congress party retained its hold with 21 seats, while the NPP bagged 19 seats. The BJP has usurped power in Meghalaya with just 2 seats, through a proxy.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated Sangma and said, "I congratulate Conrad Sangma. There was a perception that only Congress party can survive in the north-east but now that BJP has gained victory here that perception will change".  Earlier, Sangma had admitted that it wasn't going to be easy running a coalition government but hopes are high that the leader will now usher in development across the state.

Conrad is currently a Lok Sabha MP from the Tura parliamentary constituency in Meghalaya. In 2008, he became the youngest finance minister of Meghalaya. 40-year-old Conrad is the youngest son of former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma and took over the reins of the NPP after his father’s death in 2016.

Sangma's NPP has won 19 seats in the assembly elections. It has the support of six legislators from the United Democratic Party, four from People's Democratic Front (PDF), and two each from the HSPDP and the BJP, besides an Independent lawmaker Samuel Sangma.

As per reports, the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) which is one of the coalition partners had threatened to boycott Sangma's swearing-in ceremony.  "It is never easy," Mr Sangma, the son of former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma, had told NDTV, but said he hoped that the coalition led by his NPP would deliver on its mandate. Even he, however, would not have seen his first challenge appear less than 24 hours later.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 06, 2018 10:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).