2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election#Results

{{Short description|Election in Meghalaya, India}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Use Indian English|date=March 2020}}

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election

| country = India

| type = parliamentary

| ongoing = no

| previous_election = 1998 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election

| previous_year = 1998

| next_election = 2008 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election

| next_year = 2008

| seats_for_election = All 60 seats in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly

| majority_seats = 31

| election_date =

| turnout = 70.42

| opinion_polls =

| image1 = {{CSS image crop|Image=D. D. Lapang.png|bSize=100|cWidth=80|cHeight=100|oLeft=10|oTop=05}}

| leader1 = D. D. Lapang

| leader_since1 =

| party1 = INC

| alliance1 =

| leaders_seat1 = Nongpoh

| popular_vote1 = 270,269

| percentage1 = 29.96

| swing1 = {{decrease}} 5.07

| last_election1 = 25

| seats_before1 =

| seats_needed1 =

| seats1 = 22

| seat_change1 = {{decrease}} 3

| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image=Indian Election Symbol Drums.png|bSize=100|cWidth=80|cHeight=100|oLeft=10|oTop=08}}

| leader2 = Donkupar Roy

| leader_since2 =

| party2 = UDP

| alliance2 =

| leaders_seat2 =

| popular_vote2 = 144,255

| percentage2 = 15.99

| swing2 = {{decrease}} 11

| last_election2 = 20

| seats_before2 =

| seats_needed2 =

| seats2 = 9

| seat_change2 = {{decrease}} 11

| map_alt =

| map_image =

| map_size =

| map_caption =

| title = Chief Minister

| before_election = Flinder Anderson Khonglam

| before_party = Independent (politician)

| posttitle =

| after_election = D. D. Lapang

| after_party = Indian National Congress

}}

The 2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election was held on 26 February 2003. The north-east Indian state's seventh Legislative Assembly election saw major changes with 28 sitting members and two former Chief Ministers losing their seats.{{Cite journal|last=Baruah|first=Apurba K.|date=2003|title=Elections 2003: Decline of Regionalism|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=38|issue=16|pages=1538–1541|jstor=4413452|issn=0012-9976}} The election also produced the largest representation for the national parties (Indian National Congress INC, the Nationalist Congress Party NCP and the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP) and, to that point, the smallest representation for the regional parties.{{cite book|last=Dev|first=Rajesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_y6_l7zI7sC|title=India's 2004 Elections: Grass-Roots and National Perspectives|publisher=SAGE Publications|others=Paul Wallace|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7619-3516-2|editor=Roy|editor-first=Ramashray|page=257|chapter=Ethno-Regional Identity and Political Mobilisation in Meghalaya: Democratic Discourse in a Tribal State|access-date=5 March 2020|editor-last2=Wallace|editor-first2=Paul}} No party won a majority of seats and despite more than a five percent loss in the popular vote compared to the 1998 election, the INC secured a plurality. Initially, the NCP under leader E. D. Marak attempted to form a government, but failed to secure support for a majority.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/election/2003/mar/03megh.htm|title=Meghalaya: NCP claim falls flat|date=3 March 2003|website=www.rediff.com|access-date=2020-03-05}} Subsequently, D. D. Lapang was invited by Governor M. M. Jacob to present a majority, which was successfully achieved through the formation of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coalition. Made up of 42 members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), the MDA consisted of the INC, the United Democratic Party (UDP), the Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP), the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) and three independents. D.D. Lapang was confirmed as Chief Minister with Donkupar Roy of the UPD as Deputy Chief Minister.