Two independent Meghalaya MLAs join BJP

New Delhi: Two independent MLAs of Meghalaya Assembly on Monday joined the BJP, which had no presence in the state legislature.

The state is heading for polls early next year and the development will be a boost to the party, its leader Nalin Kohli, who is the state in-charge, said after the legislators joined the BJP here in the presence of its chief Amit Shah.

The MLAs, Justine Dkhar and Robinus Syngkon, were inducted in the organisation along with other leaders.

Congress is in power in the state, where it has 29 MLAs in the 60-member House.

The leaders were also accompanied by Himanta Biswa Sarma, a minister in the Assam government who has been tasked with the responsibility of strengthening the party in the Northeast states.

Kohli claimed that the MLAs were concerned over lack of development in the Congress-ruled state while the central government was working to boost development in the region.