Changes in Constituents
Though the HPDP legislators were not in the initial list of legislators submitted to the Governor, one of their MLAs Dr. F. A. Khonglam was sworn in as a minister on 4 Mar 2003. Effectively, this meant the MDA had additional support of 2 MLAs from HPDP, taking their total strength in the 60-member Assembly to 42.
Later in 2003, one additional independent joined the MDA, taking the total number of independents supporting the MDA to 4, and the total strength of the MDA to 43.
On 16 December 2003, 6 legislators from the opposition NCP broke away from their party and formed a new party called the Meghalaya Nationalist Congress Party (MNCP). They then joined the MDA coalition increasing the strength of the coalition to 49. 4 of the 6 MNCP legislatures were given ministerial positions in the MDA Government.
Read more about this topic: Meghalaya Democratic Alliance
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“Will mankind never learn that policy is not morality,—that it never secures any moral right, but considers merely what is expedient? chooses the available candidate,—who is invariably the devil,—and what right have his constituents to be surprised, because the devil does not behave like an angel of light? What is wanted is men, not of policy, but of probity,—who recognize a higher law than the Constitution, or the decision of the majority.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)