1978 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election

The 1978 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election was held on 25 February 1978.[1] No party secured a majority of seats in the election. Following negotiations, a coalition government, known as the Meghalaya United Legislative Party, was formed between the All Party Hill Leaders Conference, the Hill State People's Democratic Party and the Public Demands Implementation Convention (PDIC).[1] Due to an inability to reach agreement between the coalition parties, the position of Chief Minister was chosen by drawing lots; subsequently, on 10 March 1978, Darwin Diengdoh Pugh was sworn in as the state's second Chief Minister.[2] Miriam D Shira from Garo Hills was the only woman elected to the legislature.[3]

1978 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election

25 February 1978
All 60 seats in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly 31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	67.18%
Party All Party Hill Leaders Conference INC Seats before 32 9 Seats won 16 20 Seat change 16 11 Popular vote 94,362 109,654 Percentage 24.92 28.96 Swing 10.75 19.07
Chief Minister before election Williamson A. Sangma All Party Hill Leaders Conference Elected Chief Minister Darwin Diengdoh Pugh All Party Hill Leaders Conference

Results

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Won	+/−
	Indian National Congress (INC)	109,654	28.96	19.07	20	11
	All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC)	94,362	24.92	10.75	16	16
	Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP)	72,852	19.24		14^[a]
	Indian National Congress (I)	5,447	1.44		0
	Communist Party of India	2,361	0.62	0.05	0
	Independents (IND)	93,970	24.82	29.04	10^[b]	9
Total		378,646	100.00		60	±0
Source: Election Commission of India[4]

^a The HSPDP won 8 seats in the 1972 election, but the party's representatives were recorded as independents at the time of that election.[1]

^b Two candidates from the PDIC were elected, but the party had not obtained registration in time for the election; the party's representatives were recorded as independents in the official results.[5]

References

1. Warjri, Antarwell (March 2017). "Role of Regional Political Parties and Formation of the Coalition Governments in Meghalaya" (PDF). International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies. 3 (5): 206–218.
2. Staff (2008-11-18). "Former Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Pugh dies". Oneindia.com. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
3. Joshi, Hargovind (2004). Meghalaya: Past and Present. Mittal Publications. p. 292. ISBN 978-81-7099-980-5.
4. "Meghalaya 1978". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
5. Gupta, Susmita Sen (2005). Regionalism in Meghalaya. South Asian Publishers. p. 118. ISBN 978-81-7003-288-5.