Shillong, Mar 2 : In a set-back to the 11-month-old NCP-led ruling Meghalaya Progressive Alliance, Opposition Congress on Monday wrested the Umroi Assembly seat from the United Democratic Party in a by-election held on February 26.
Congress nominee Stanley Wiss Rymbai defeated UDP candidate George, son of former Chief Minister EK Mawlong whose death on October 18 had necessitated the by-poll, by a thin margin of 450 votes. The seat is a UDP stronghold.
With internal bickerings putting the ruling MPA in a spot, the defeat in the by-poll has come as a shock to the coalition which now has a thin majority of 33 seats in the 60-member Assembly.
