Meghalaya Elections 2023: A deep dive into voting turnout in previous assembly polls

Meghalaya is scheduled to go for polling in a single phase on February 27 and the results will be announced on March 2.  The elections will be fought on 60 constituencies in 12 districts. Around 55 of the 60 seats are reserved for ST, while 5 seats are for general.  As the state awaits polls in the coming days, here's a look at previous elections where Meghalaya voted historically:-

In 2018 and 2013, 14 political parties and independents were in the fray, including 4 national parties, 5 regional parties and 5 registered unrecognised parties. Any party will need 31 seats to get a clear majority in the 60-member assembly seats.

Meghalaya Elections 2018

In 2018, there were four prominent parties in the Meghalaya poll battle-- Congress, BJP, National People's Party (NPP) and United Democratic Party (UDP).  Congress fielded 60 candidates, and UDP contested 35 seats. The BJP fielded 47 candidates while NPP contested from 52 constituencies The face-off was between then-incumbent Chief Minister Mukul Sangma of the Congress and National People's Party (NPP) aspirant Conrad Sangma.  According to the Election Commission, 1,842,163 electors were eligible to cast their votes. Of these 9,12,849 were men and 9,29,314 were women.

NPP's Conrad Sangma went on to form a government with the support of the UDP, BJP and other regional parties and was sworn in as the Chief Minister, along with eleven other ministers.

Meghalaya Elections 2013

The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election of 2013 was held on 23 February 2013 where Congress' Mukul Sangma became the Chief Minister. The Congress retained power with 29 seats, 13 seats for Independent, 8 for UDP, and 2 for NPP. Mukul Sangma later switched to the Trinamool Congress party in 2021.

Voter Turnout 2013 vs 2018

The voter turnout for the Meghalaya Assembly was 87% in which the winner won by an average of 37% of the total votes polled. While in 2013 the total voter turnout was 88% where the winner won by an average of 39%.

In 2023, the BJP and NPP who were earlier in the alliance are contesting solo. BJP has decided to contest alone by fielding candidates in all 60 Assembly constituencies. Congress is also contesting in all 60 seats. The NPP and UDP have also not announced any pre-poll alliance. The Trinamool Congress has emerged as a strong force in the state and is also trying to enter the fray this year. It became the main opposition party in the state after 12 Congress MLAs, including former Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, joined the party in 2021. TMC has fielded candidates in 58 seats.