2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election

The 2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election was held on 26 February 2003. The north-east Indian state's seventh Legislative Assembly election saw major changes with 28 sitting members and two former Chief Ministers losing their seats.[1] The election also produced the largest representation for the national parties (Indian National Congress INC, the Nationalist Congress Party NCP and the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP) and, to that point, the smallest representation for the regional parties.[2] No party won a majority of seats and despite more than a five percent loss in the popular vote compared to the 1998 election, the INC secured a plurality. Initially, the NCP under leader E. D. Marak attempted to form a government, but failed to secure support for a majority.[3] Subsequently, D. D. Lapang was invited by Governor M. M. Jacob to present a majority, which was successfully achieved through the formation of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coalition.[3] Made up of 42 members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), the MDA consisted of the INC, the United Democratic Party (UDP), the Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP), the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) and three independents.[1] D.D. Lapang was confirmed as Chief Minister with Donkupar Roy of the UPD as Deputy Chief Minister.[1]

2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election

All 60 seats in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly 31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	70.42
Leader D. D. Lapang Donkupar Roy Party INC UDP Last election 25 20 Seats won 22 9 Seat change 3 11 Popular vote 270,269 144,255 Percentage 29.96 15.99 Swing 5.07 11
Chief Minister before election Flinder Anderson Khonglam Independent Elected Chief Minister D. D. Lapang INC

Results

← Summary of the 23 February 2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Won	+/−
	Indian National Congress (INC)	270,269	29.96	5.07	22	3
	Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)	174,972	19.40		14
	United Democratic Party (UDP)	144,255	15.99	11	9	11
	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	48,932	5.42	0.41	2	1
	Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP)	47,852	5.31		4
	Hill State People's Democratic Party (HPDP/HSPDP)	44,520	4.94	1.83	2	1
	Khun Hynnieutrip National Awakaning Movement	32,677	3.62		2
	Garo National Council (GNC)	8,483	0.94	1.17	0	1
	People's Democratic Movement (PDM)	16,245	1.80	5.15	0	3
	Khasi Farmers Democratic Party (KFDP)	2,478	0.27		0
	Communist Party of India	551	0.06	0.11	0
	Samata Party (SAP)	811	0.09		0
	Samajwadi Party (SP)	245	0.03	0.06	0
	Independents (IND)	109,686	12.16	4.0	5
Total		901,976	100.00		60	±0
Source: Election Commission of India[4]

References

1. Baruah, Apurba K. (2003). "Elections 2003: Decline of Regionalism". Economic and Political Weekly. 38 (16): 1538–1541. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4413452.
2. Dev, Rajesh (2007). "Ethno-Regional Identity and Political Mobilisation in Meghalaya: Democratic Discourse in a Tribal State". In Roy, Ramashray; Wallace, Paul (eds.). India's 2004 Elections: Grass-Roots and National Perspectives. Paul Wallace. SAGE Publications. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-7619-3516-2. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
3. "Meghalaya: NCP claim falls flat". www.rediff.com. 3 March 2003. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
4. "Meghalaya 2003". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 5 March 2020.