Conrad Sangma dials Amit Shah for support; Gets it immediately

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday called up Union Home Minister Amit Shah to seek his help in securing another term after his National People's Party (NPP) fell short of a majority in the state elections. His request was met without delay.

Meghalaya's election results appeared to head the way of the exit polls, with no party in the clear majority, as votes were counted on Thursday amid tight security. Sangma's party won 27 seats, emerging as the single largest party.

The majority mark in Meghalaya, where the assembly has 60 seats, is 31. Voting on one of the seats was canceled and will be held later. The United Democratic Party (UDP) was in second place, winning 11 seats. The Congress and the Trinamool Congress appeared set to win five seats each, and the BJP two.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP's main troubleshooter in the northeast, announced the party's decision to support Sangma. However, the alliance may still need to cobble together a few more seats to cross the magic number.

Conrad Sangma had already dropped a hint that his alliance with the BJP, called off ahead of the elections, may soon be back on. "If we get a fraction of the mandate, then we have to talk to parties to form the government... If a party can give voice to the northeast at the national level, we are working towards it," Sangma said.