SHILLONG: Results of the elections to the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC), announced on Saturday, were not decisively in favour of any party . However, the outcome seems to be headed in favour of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), whose constituents could come together and form coalitions to lead both the tribal governing councils.To form the executive committee of the ADCs, with 29 elected seats each, the ruling dispensation needs to control 15 seats. One seat of each council is occupied by a member nominated by the governor.For KHADC, 131 candidates were in the fray. Of the 29 seats it contested, Congress won 10. It was followed by National People's Party (NPP), which won seven of the 18 it contested, and its ally in the ruling coalition, United Democratic Party (UDP), which won six of the 26 seats it was in the running for.Another MDA partner, Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP), won two out of 13 seats it contested. The People's Democratic Front (PDF) won one seat out of 15 while Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement did not win a single seat of the eight it contested. There were 19 Independents in the fray as well, of whom three won.In the JHADC election, the results were more decisively in favour of the ruling MDA. While NPP won 12 of the 28 seats it contested, UDP won 10 out of 26. Between the two ruling allies, therefore, the MDA won 22 of the 29 seats. The rest were won by Congress (four) and Independents (three). The PDF and HSPDP could not win a single seat.The district council elections this year saw many veteran and senior leaders from the state make a comeback to the KHADC, with most of them, who had lost the assembly elections last year making up for the loss.UDP leader Paul Lyngdoh won from Jaiaw constituency. He won the elections by securing 5152 votes by defeating Congress's Auguster Jyrwa by a margin of 771 votes. Former cabinet minister and Congress leader Ronnie V Lyngdoh also won from Mylliem. Similarly, former KHADC chief executive member PN Syiem defeated his closest competitor James Ban Basaiawmoit of the PDF by 240 votes in Mawkhar-Pynthorumkhrah constituency.All the three leaders had unsuccessfully contested the assembly elections held in 2018.The closest encounter in the elections was seen in Laban-Mawprem as UDP's Ricky Shullai lost to NPP's Mitchel Wankhar by just 19 votes.

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