The Congress move comes in the wake of criticism in the past that the party was caught napping in Goa and Manipur.

With election trends projecting that the Congress could emerge as the single-largest party in Meghalaya, the party on March 3 rushed two senior leaders to the northeastern State to explore possibilities of forming a government.

According to sources, senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and Kamal Nath left for Shillong on the morning of March 3 to work out possible tie-ups with independents in Meghalaya to form a government there.

The Congress currently rules Meghalaya and is set to emerge as the single largest party in the State, according to trends available for most of the seats in the State.

Polling for 59 seats of the 60-member Assembly was held on February 27.

The Congress’ move comes in the wake of criticism in the past that the party was caught napping in Goa and Manipur, where despite emerging as the single-largest party it failed to form governments there.

Sources said Mr. Patel and Mr. Nath would land in Shillong post noon and will hold discussions with party leaders there, including outgoing Chief Minister Mukul Sangma.

Meghalaya is one of the five States currently held by the Congress. the other states are Punjab, Karnataka, Mizoram and Puducherry.