Shillong, Mar 2 (IANS): In a major setback to the Congress, its Meghalaya unit president and Lok Sabha MP Vincent Pala lost the assembly election. He was defeated by the NPP candidate Santa Mary Shylla.

Pala was contesting from the Sutnga Saipung assembly seat. He got 14,866 votes while Shylla bagged 16,719 votes. The United Democratic Party candidate Shitlang Pale came third with 10,224 votes.

BJP candidate Krison Langstang was a distant fourth with only 420 votes.

After Mukul Sangma's departure, Vincent Pala was the face of the Congress party in the assembly poll.

Overall, the Congress party has put up a poor show in Meghalaya, managing to win only five seats this time. In 2018, the Congress won 21 seats and was the single largest party in the state.

However, the grand old party could not form the government then and Conrad Sangma's National People's Party along with the BJP and some smaller regional parties ruled the hill state for the last five years.