Congress general secretary Margaret Alva on Monday met Meghalaya Governor S S Sidhu, even as its rival Meghalaya Progressive Alliance claimed a strength of 33 legislators in the 60-member House.

Monday being the last date of government formation, discontentment was apparently brewing in the state Congress which accused its local leadership of apparent failure to win over the regional parties, informed sources said.

Alva, party in-charge for the state, reached Shillong on Sunday evening and held meetings with the Congress leaders and its MLAs till late in the night.

The Congress, which emerged as the single largest party, has fallen short of six seats to cross the majority threshold in the assembly.

All India Congress Committee secretary Major (Retd) Ved Prakash, who had camped in Shillong ahead of the elections, suddenly dashed off to Delhi on Sunday.

Nationlist Congress Party leader P A Sangma, the architect of non-Congress front, had on Sunday urged the governor to follow the Sarkaria Commission report and invite the coalition, comprising NCP, UDP and other smaller parties and independents, to form the government.

The newly-appointed Pro-tem Speaker HS Lyngdoh will be sworn in on Monday along with the new members of the eighth Meghalaya assembly.