Meghalaya Legislative Assembly

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Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
11th Meghalaya Assembly
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
5 years
History
Preceded by10th Meghalaya Assembly
Succeeded by11th Meghalaya Assembly
Leadership
Speaker
Deputy Speaker
TBD
since 2 March 2023
Conrad Sangma, NPP
since 6 March 2018
Vacant
since 2 March 2023
Structure
Seats60
Meghalaya Legislative Assembly 2023.svg
Political groups
Government (45)

MDA (45)[1]

  •   NPEP (26)
  •   UDP (11)
  •   BJP (2)
  •   HSPDP (2)
  •   PDF (2)
  •   IND (2)

Opposition (14)

Vacant (1)

  •   Vacant (1)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
27 February 2023
Next election
2028
Meeting place
Vidhana Bhavan, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
Website
http://megassembly.gov.in/

The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Meghalaya.[2]

Constituted as a directly elected body in 1972, it has 60 members, filled through direct elections held every five years.[2] Like other Indian states, Meghalaya has a parliamentary system of government. The executive branch of the Meghalaya Government is derived from the Legislative Assembly.

History[edit]

In independent India, the areas now constituting the state of Meghalaya were part of the state of Assam and represented in the Assam Legislative Assembly. The Indian Parliament passed the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act in 1969, which led to the establishment of an autonomous state of Meghalaya within Assam on 2 April 1970.[2][3] A legislature of 37 members for the new autonomous state was established, with representatives elected indirectly by the autonomous direct councils.[2][3] The first sitting of the assembly took place in Tura on 14 April 1970. In 1971, the Indian Parliament passed the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, which converted Meghalaya from an autonomous state within Assam to a full member state of the Indian Union.[2] The State of Meghalaya was officially formed on 21 January 1972.[2] The Legislative Assembly was then reconstituted as a directly elected body.[citation needed]

The regions of Meghalaya are represented in the Assembly, with 29 members elected from Khasi Hills, 7 from Jaintia Hills and 24 from Garo Hills.[4]

List of Assemblies[edit]

The following is the list of all the Meghalaya Legislative Assemblies:[5]

Assembly Term of Assembly Speaker Term of Speaker Leader of House
(Chief Minister)
Term of Leader of House Party of Leader of House[lower-alpha 1] Remarks
1st Assembly 1972 1978 R. S. Lyngdoh 25 March 1972 1978 Williamson A. Sangma 18 March 1972 21 November 1976 All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) ---
22 November 1976 3 March 1978 Indian National Congress (INC)
2nd Assembly 1978 1983 W. Syiemiong 20 March 1978 1983 D. D. Pugh 10 March 1978 6 May 1979 APHLC ---
B. B. Lyngdoh 7 May 1979 7 May 1981 APHLC
Williamson A. Sangma 7 May 1981 24 February 1983 INC
3rd Assembly 1983 1988 E. K. Mawlong 9 March 1983 12 December 1988 B. B. Lyngdoh 2 March 1983 31 March 1983 APHLC ---
Williamson A. Sangma 2 April 1983 5 February 1988 INC
4th Assembly 1988 1993 P. G. Marbaniang 24 February 1988 15 December 1989 Purno A. Sangma 6 February 1988 25 March 1990 INC ---
P. R. Kyndiah 20 December 1989 1993 B. B. Lyngdoh 26 March 1990 10 October 1991 Hill People's Union
President's Rule[lower-alpha 2] 11 October 1991 5 February 1992 NA
P. R. Kyndiah 20 December 1989 1993 D.D. Lapang 5 February 1992 19 February 1993 INC
5th Assembly 1993 1998 J. D. Rymbai 12 October 1993 17 April 1997 S. C. Marak 19 February 1993 27 February 1998 INC ---
Monindra Rava 22 July 1997 6 March 1998
6th Assembly 1998 2003 E. K. Mawlong 10 March 1998 8 March 2000 S. C. Marak 27 February 1998 10 March 1998 INC Though the Leader was an Independent, the government was a coalition of NCP, etc. Khonglam became the first independent Chief Minister of an Indian state in history.
B. B. Lyngdoh 10 March 1998 14 October 1999 INC
B. B. Lyngdoh 14 October 1999 8 March 2000 United Democratic Party (UDP)
E. D. Marak 20 July 2000 2 March 2003
E. K. Mawlong 8 March 2000 8 December 2001 United Democratic Party (UDP)
F. A. Khonglam 8 December 2001 4 March 2003 Independent
7th Assembly 2003 2008 M. M. Danggo 12 March 2003 7 March 2008 D.D. Lapang 4 March 2003 15 June 2006 INC ---
J. D. Rymbai 15 June 2006 10 March 2007 INC
D.D. Lapang 10 March 2007 7 March 2008 INC
8th Assembly 2008 2013 Bindo Lanong 20 March 2008 15 May 2009 D. D. Lapang 10 March 2008 19 March 2008 INC INC got the highest number of seats (25) but since no majority could be secured by it even after gaining 3 Independents' support, Lapang resigned as Chief Minister in less than 10 days. Then a coalition called Meghalaya Progressive Alliance was formed, comprising all non-Congress parties like NCP (15), UDP (11), HSPDP (2), KHNAM (1) and Independents (3), thus 33 in total, to form the government under Roy. However, the coalition barely survived a year and collapsed leading to promulgation of President's Rule. After a month, several parties of the Alliance left and supported Congress to form the government with Lapang again being sworn in as the Chief Minister.
Donkupar Roy 19 March 2008 19 March 2009 United Democratic Party (UDP)
President's Rule[lower-alpha 2] 19 March 2009 13 April 2009 NA
Charles Pyngrope 25 May 2009 ? D. D. Lapang 13 April 2009 18 April 2010 INC
Mukul Sangma 20 April 2010 5 March 2013 INC
9th Assembly 2013 2018 A. T. Mondal March 2013 March 2018 Mukul Sangma 5 March 2013 6 March 2018 INC ---
10th Assembly 2018 2023 Donkupar Roy
Metbah Lyngdoh
6 March 2018 5 March 2023 Conrad Sangma 6 March 2018 4 March 2023 National People's Party (NPP) The NDA government was formed by the coalition of 39 MLA's including NPP (20), UDP (8), PDF (4), HSPDP (2), BJP (2) and (2)Independents with Conrad Sangma as Leader of the House.[7]
11th Assembly 2023 Present Thomas A. Sangma 9 March 2023 Present Conrad Sangma 7 March 2023 Present National People's Party (NPP) The NDA government was formed by the coalition of 45 MLA's including NPP (26), UDP (11), PDF (2), HSPDP (2), BJP (2) and (2)Independents with Conrad Sangma as Leader of the House.

Committees[edit]

There are 15 committees in the Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya:[8]

  1. Business Advisory Committee: decides the time-table for assembly functions and for evaluation of legislation.
  2. Committee on Petitions: responsible for examining petitions submitted to the assembly, collecting evidence and preparing reports.
  3. Committee on Public Accounts: examines the budget, appropriations and auditing of state agencies, programmes and government.
  4. Committee on Public Undertakings: responsible for monitoring and improving the workings of public sector undertakings such as government corporations, housing programmes and economic development schemes.
  5. Committee on Estimates: evaluates statistics and estimates to improve the efficiency and administration of various government functions, agencies and programmes.
  6. Committee Welfare of the Scheduled Tribes & Scheduled Castes: responsible for monitoring programmes aimed for the economic and social development of the scheduled castes, tribes and backward classes residing in the state of Meghalaya.
  7. Committee of Privileges: examines any issues and violations of the privileges, conduct and benefits given to members of the assembly.
  8. Committee on Subordinate Legislation: monitors if the state government's functions and legislation comply with the state constitution.
  9. Committee on Government Assurances: monitors the reliability and fulfillment of targets and promises made by the chief minister and cabinet ministers.
  10. Rules Committee: maintains the rules of business and code of conduct for members of the assembly.
  11. House Committee: oversees the amenities for members of the assembly such as housing, food, health-care and transport.
  12. Library Committee: is responsible for the maintenance and development of the state government and assembly library.
  13. Select Committee: is charged with the examination and development of specific legislation, preparing it for final passage.
  14. Committee on the Empowerment of Women: oversees schemes and programmes aimed to increase representation of women in society and economic sectors.
  15. Budget Committee: examines budget proposals for various organs and departments of the state government.

Members[edit]

{{#Section-h:11th Meghalaya Assembly|Members}}

Notes[edit]

  1. This column only names the chief minister's party. The state government he headed may have been a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
  2. 2.0 2.1 President's rule may be imposed when the "government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution", which often happens because no party or coalition has a majority in the assembly. When President's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant, and the administration is taken over by the governor, who functions on behalf of the central government. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved.[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. "Conrad gets support of 45 MLAs", NDTV
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Meghalaya Legislative Assembly". National Informatics Centre.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Hamlet Bareh (2001). Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Meghalaya. Mittal Publications. pp. 9–12. ISBN 978-81-7099-791-7.
  4. "Homepage: Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Government of Meghalaya". Chief Electoral Officer, Government of Meghalaya.
  5. "Meghalaya Legislature, Mumbai" (PDF). Legislative Bodies in India website. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  6. Amberish K. Diwanji. "A dummy's guide to President's rule". Rediff.com. 15 March 2005.
  7. "Meghalaya bypolls: MDA ties up with NPP, UDP after parties win by-elections, increases tally to 39 seats". Firstpost. 27 August 2018.
  8. "Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Committees". National Informatics Centre.
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