Politics of defection that continues to haunt Meghalaya

SHILLONG, Sep 8: In December 2001, when Flinder Anderson Khonglam walked into Raj Bhavan in Shillong to take oath as Meghalaya’s Chief Minister, he became the face of something that had come to define Indian politics — and more so the politics of this state. Governments could be made and unmade without the people returning to the ballot box. Khonglam was an Independent MLA from Sohra. His elevation came after E.K. Mawlong’s government lost its majority and a new coalition of legislators emerged. An Independent MLA, who had not entered the Assembly as the leader of a major political party, was suddenly at the centre of the government. Contemp…