1978 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election

1978 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election
← 1972 25 February 1978 1983 →
All 60 seats in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout67.18%
  First party Second party
 
Party AHL INC
Seats before 32 9
Seats won 16 20
Seat change 16 Decrease 11 Increase
Popular vote 94,362 109,654
Percentage 24.92 28.96
Swing 10.75 Decrease 19.07 Increase
Chief Minister before election

Williamson A. Sangma
AHL

Elected Chief Minister

Darwin Diengdoh Pugh
AHL

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]

  1. ^ a b 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-05-06. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  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.