SHILLONG: A unique political crisis has gripped Meghalaya with the NCP-led ruling Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) and Congress-led

opposition Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) poised with equal strength in the House. Now, both sides have 30 members after the dramatic resignation of the lone Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement legislator and urban affairs minister, Paul Lyngdoh, late on Tuesday night.

Lyngdoh, along with Independents Limison Sangma and Ismail R Marak, is the third MLA to have pulled out of the ruling coalition in as many days, reducing its strength to 30 in the 60-member House. However, an unfazed CM Donkupar Roy refused to resign and favoured a floor test instead. Roy said he has lodged a complaint with the Speaker to disqualify the two Independents who switched allegiance.

NCP leader and chairman of state planning board P A Sangma said Speaker Bindo M Lanong would take a final decision on the issue under the anti-defection law. “The Speaker will have the final say,’’ Sangma said, even as his son and state finance minister Conrad Sangma sought to clarify that his father held no talks with AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, rubbishing claims of opposition leader D D Lapang.

The Congress is busy cobbling a coalition to stake claim to form a government, with leader D D Lapang not ruling out the possibility of a tie-up with the NCP.

“We are being contacted from all sides. We are weighing our options. As a responsible party, we will have to ensure that we have to give a stable government when the MPA collapses,’’ Lapang said, confirming that Khnam MLA Paul Lyngdoh was in the fold of the Congress-led MUA.

The opposition leader, though, clarified that his party would not welcome President’s Rule. “I believe none of the MLAs in the state would want it. After all, the people would blame the MLAs if there is such a scenario,’’ Lapang said.

Meanwhile, Raj Bhavan sources said neither the chief minister nor Lapang has sought appointment from the governor so far.

The 12-month old five-party ruling MPA now has 30 seats—NCP 15, UDP 10, Hill State People’s Democratic Party 2, BJP 1 and two Independents. The Congress is the single largest party with 26 seats and now has the support of three independents and the lone MLA KHNAM.

After the March 2008 assembly polls, D D Lapang was sworn in as the CM of a Congress-led coalition in the state although he resigned 10 days later ahead of a trust vote, having failed to muster majority support.

Political instability is the hallmark of Meghalaya—a state which has never witnessed any political party securing the majority except during the first assembly elections. The struggle for power was a jigsaw between the Congress and the regional parties, with the state witnessing 18 governments in the last 35 years.

There were just two occasions when a chief minister was able to complete his five-year term since Meghalaya attained statehood in 1972.