📄 Abstract
Regional political parties have played a central role in Meghalaya's politics since the state's formation in 1972. Despite differences in leadership, ideology and organisational structure, most regional parties have displayed a remarkably similar electoral pattern: they have consistently achieved greater success in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills than in the Garo Hills. This geographical imbalance has persisted across successive generations of regional parties, from the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) to more recent parties such as the Voice of the People Party (VPP). Yet, while scholars have extensively examined coalition politics, regionalism and ethnic mobilisation in Meghalaya, few studies have treated this uneven electoral geography as a research problem in its own right. This paper examines why regional parties have struggled to establish comparable political support in the Garo Hills despite presenting themselves as representatives of Meghalaya's wider tribal interests. Drawing on a comparative historical approach, the study combines existing scholarship, electoral records and qualitative interviews conducted with political scientists, journalists and party leaders to examine how historical developments, institutional arrangements and organisational factors have shaped political mobilisation in different parts of the state. Rather than attributing the pattern to a single cause, the paper argues that the Khasi–Garo asymmetry reflects the interaction of several long-term processes, including divergent political trajectories after statehood, the differing evolution of the Autonomous District Councils, variations in party organisation, and the strategic choices made by political elites. The paper contributes to the literature by shifting attention from the general study of regional parties towards understanding why regional political mobilisation has remained geographically uneven. It further argues that this persistent imbalance continues to influence government formation, coalition politics and the electoral prospects of emerging regional parties, making it an important feature of Meghalaya's contemporary political landscape.
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📚 How to Cite:
Nangiaisan Kharlukhi, Mary M. Kurbah , BEYOND THE KHASI CORE: EXPLAINING THE GARO HILLS–KHASI HILLS ASYMMETRY IN MEGHALAYA'S REGIONAL PARTY POLITICS , Volume 12 , Issue 7, July 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 739 - 748 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra28721