Shillong Nov 20: A vote given by the Chairman of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) , Pynshngaiñlang N Syiem has helped the opposition Congress to defeat the the United Democratic Alliance (UDA)-led executive committee in a no-confidence motion on Wednesday.
The no confidence motion was moved by Leader of Opposition, Lamphrang Blah and supported by 10 members of the opposition and five members from the ruling UDA.
Syiem along with four members from the UDA voted for the no confidence motion which led to the collapse of the eight-month executive committee led by chief executive member Teiñwell Dkhar.
The UDA had more members but lost in the voting conducted by the chairman due to cross-voting from the ruling side.
The ruling UDA has 19 members, comprising members of the National People’s Party (NPP), United Democratic Party (UDP), Hill State People’s Democratic Alliance (HSPDP) and People’s Democratic Front (PDF).
The UDA is a combination of the Regional Democratic Alliance (RDA) formed by the UDP and HSPDP, and the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) formed by the NPP and Independents. The members of the ruling UDA include UDP (seven), NPP (seven), HSPDP (two), PDF (one), and two Independents.
There were 29 members in the house, including the chairman. Both the UDA and the Opposition secured 14 votes each.
The chairman cast his vote in favour of the Opposition.
Earlier, the leader of the Opposition, Lamphrang Blah, accused the executive committee of having failed on all fronts when he initiated discussion on the no-confidence motion.
Syiem said the election of the new chief executive member will be held on Friday, and filing of nominations will take place on Thursday till noon.
The chairman told reporters that he would not vie for the post of chief executive member.
Dkhar said he would sit together with the members and decide a course of action.
Blah said the Congress MDCs would decide their next move, especially on the formation of the new executive committee.