SHILLONG: The ruling National People's Party (NPP) added another leader to its ranks, with former speaker and five-time legislator Martin M Danggo formally joining the party at a simple event at the party headquarters here on Wednesday. Danggo stepped down as a Congress legislator from Ranikor on June 21."I joined NPP out of gratitude for chief minister Conrad Sangma , who has been kind and sensitive enough to grant civil subdivision status to Ranikor, a long-pending demand of the people," Danggo said on Wednesday. He added, "We had been demanding the upgrade of Ranikor as a civil subdivision for a long time. It is only under the present government that our people's aspiration for development is being met." The upgrade was announced on June 10.The border town of Ranikor, he said, is the most backward constituency. Danggo has long been at the forefront of the demand to upgrade Ranikor into a civil subdivision under the banner of the Community and Rural Development Demand Committee.Besides Danggo, a host of former Congress members also joined NPP on Wednesday in the presence of state party president WR Kharlukhi, party legislator from Williamnagar Marcuise Marak and other NPP functionaries.Byelection to Ranikor, vacated by Danggo, is yet to be announced by the Election Commission.In the House of 60 (with an effective strength of 58 after Danggo and NPP leader Agatha Sangma stepped down), the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance has 37 legislators - 19 from NPP, seven from the United Democratic Party, four from the People's Democratic Front, two each from BJP and the Hill State People's Democratic Party, one from NCP and two Independents.Opposition Congress has 20 members while the lone Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement MLA, Adelbert Nongrum, does not support either the ruling side or the opposition.

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