Meghalaya BJP Chief Ernest Mawrie Who Said ‘I Eat Beef’ Bites The Dust, Loses From West Shillong

NEW DELHI: In a big upset for BJP, its Meghalaya unit chief Ernest Mawrie, who had grabbed eyeballs by saying he eats beef and everyone in the northeastern state eats too, was defeated in the assembly elections, as per the results declared by the Election Commission. Mawrie was defeated in the assembly election 2023 from the West Shillong constituency. He secured around 20.07 per cent of the vote, according to the Election Commission of India.

The Meghalaya BJP chief had created a sensation last month by claiming that if the BJP came to power in Meghalaya, it would not impose any restrictions on the people consuming beef. He went on to say that Meghalaya is a Christian-majority state and if the BJP came to power, it would provide more security to the Christians.

“I cannot make a statement on the resolution adopted by other states. We are in Meghalaya, everybody eats beef, and there is no restriction. Yes, I eat beef too. There is no ban in Meghalaya. It is the lifestyle of the people, no one can stop it. There is no such rule in India also. Some states have passed some acts. In Meghalaya, we have a slaughterhouse, everybody takes a cow or pig and brings it to the market. It could be a hygienic one. So the people they have the habit,” Mawrie had said, according to news agency ANI.

After the declaration of results, Mawrie said the saffron party will submit a letter of support to the NPP on Thursday night to form the next government in the state.

BJP, which contested the assembly elections alone and won two seats despite being in an alliance government with the NPP during the last five years, would have bagged more seats had the two allies fought in partnership, he said.

"Today, around 6 pm, I got a call from our national president J P Nadda. He asked me to convene a meeting of the state BJP and extend support to the NPP in government formation," Mawrie was quoted as saying by PTI.

The National People's Party in Meghalaya emerged as the single-largest party in the state on Thursday, clinching 26 seats out of the 59 constituencies that went to polls on February 27, the Election Commission said. "... We are going to submit the letter of support to (CM) Conrad Sangma tonight itself," Mawrie said. 

When pointed out that the NPP and BJP together will also not cross the magic number of 31, he expressed optimism all the partners of the last regime will join hands to form the next government.

On BJP's performance in the elections, Mawrie said: "In the morning, we were leading in 10 seats, but we started trailing after the fourth round. Though the number of seats didn't increase, our vote share went up.” "We worked very hard and lost many seats narrowly," the BJP state unit chief claimed.

In 2018, the BJP contested 47 seats and won two. Asked if the results would have been different had the BJP and NPP fought together, he said: "Maybe you're right. We probably would have won more seats in that case. But, as a national party, we need to follow instructions from the central leaders.”