Shillong, March 07: The Assembly electons in Meghalaya today produced a fractured mandate but ruling Congress emerged as the single largest party with 25 seats and is expected to return to power at the head of a coalition with help from its regional allies and independents in the 60-member House.

Overcoming anti-incumbency and allegations of corruption, Congress managed to add three seats to its last election's tally of 22. Congress, which contested the poll this time without a pre-poll alliance, is expected to enlist the support of five independents and three MLAs belonging to Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) and HSPDP which will boost the alliance's strength to 33. KHNAM secured only one seat in this year's election as against two in the previous poll while HSPDP bagged two seats.

Meghalaya Democratic Party was washed out and even the party chief and state Forest Minister M N Mukhim failed to retain his seat.

The party had four members in the outgoing House, three of whom had shifted allegiance to other parties recently and lost.

Another former ally of Congress, the United Democratic Party, however, added two seats to its previous tally and finished with 11 seats.

NCP bagged 14 seats, the same it had got in the last polls .Independents kept their previous tally intact by bagging five seats again this time.

The BJP tally was cut by one seat compared to two in the previous poll.

The party's lone winner was its chief whip AL Hek who retained his seat.

The Congress saw three of its ministers Zenith Sangma (Rangsakona), Debora Marak (Rongrengiri) and Manirul Islam Sarkar (Phulbari) and a former Chief Minister S C Marak (Resubelpara) losing.

After resigning from the Congress on the eve of assembly elections, UDP candidate and former Congress chief minister J D Rymbai emerged victorious for the fifth consecutive time from Jirang constituency.

Elections were held for 59 seats.

Election to the Baghmara seat was postponed because of the death of a candidate.

Thirty two sitting MLAs, including four ministers and a former chief minister, were defeated in the elections, the results of which were seen as outcome of localized issues and personality factors rather than party politics.

While many observers and analysts had predicted a drubbing for Congress due to anti-incumbency, the axe actually fell on sitting MLAs rather than any party.

The results in Ri Bhoi district, which has seven seats, gave enough hints that the voters were not keen to have the sitting legislators again, mostly owing to the deteriorating condition of Meghalaya's lifeline - the Guwahati-Shillong road - a major portion of which passes through the district.

Four sitting legislators from the district lost the elections this time.

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