HITO for change in govt leadership in M’laya

The Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO), a pressure group in Meghalaya, on Sunday said that the Chief Ministerial post should be shared between the Garo and Khasi communities mid-term.
In an ‘open letter’ to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, HITO President, Donbok Dkhar, claimed that there was an understanding between two former Chief Ministers, late Purno Sangma and late Brington Buhai Lyngdoh Mawphlang in 1998 on the formtion of government and share of the Chief Minister post.
“The precedent exists. In 1998, the late Purno Agitok Sangma — your beloved father, a towering statesman from Meghalaya whose stature was recognised nationally and internationally — agreed to a 50:50 power-sharing arrangement with the late B.B. Lyngdoh,” Dkhar claimed.
Interestingly, Purno Agitok Sangma, the father of the incumbent Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, was the Speaker of Lok Sabha in 1998, as he was not in state politics.
The organisation claimed, “Together, these two giants (Purno and Lyngdoh) set a historic precedent — not weakness but foresight — showing that even the Chief Minister’s chair could be shared in the interest of balance and fairness. Their act reshaped Meghalaya’s politics and stands as a model for the country, with lessons still relevant today,” Dkhar further claimed.
HITO said currently the four highest constitutional positions in Meghalaya (Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition, Speaker and Deputy Speaker) are from the Garo community.
“Yet this also highlights the need to ensure proportionate space for the Khasi-Jaintia region in the spirit of balance and fairness. For the second half of the term, it would be only just and proportionate that the Chief Ministership be entrusted to a leader from the Khasi-Jaintia region,” the HITO President argued.
Dkhar further said Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong and UDP President Metbah Lyngdoh are from the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region.
“Each of them (Dhar, Tynsong and Lyngdoh) commands both experience and legitimacy. Handing over the leadership to one of them would not only reflect your declared belief that ‘everything must be fair,’ but also stand as a statesmanlike act in the footsteps of your late father, setting a new precedent in Meghalaya’s democratic journey,” the HITO President wrote to the Chief Minister.
The organisation also expressed surprise over the fact that there was no woman representative in a matrilineal state in the recent cabinet reshuffle carried out by the Chief Minister. “It is ironic that in matriarchal Meghalaya, there is now no woman representation in the cabinet after the exit of Ampareen Lyngdoh,” Dkhar said.
Conrad has been in the helm of affairs as Chief Minister since March 6, 2018 and he continued after his party, the National People’s Party (NPP) bounced back to power securing almost absolute majority, 26 MLAs in the 2023 Assembly elections.
With the joining of seven legislators from other parties – two in 2023, three in 2024 and one in 2025 – the NPP at present enjoys absolute majority with 33 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly.