Metbah Lyngdoh now lone party representative in Assembly
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 23: Meghalaya Assembly Speaker Thomas A. Sangma on Friday formally recognised the merger of three United Democratic Party (UDP) legislators with the National People’s Party (NPP), reducing the UDP’s strength in the 60-member Assembly to just one MLA (Metbah Lyngdoh) and further consolidating the ruling party’s position in the state.
In an order on Friday, the Assembly Secretariat stated that the Speaker had accepted the merger of Paul Lyngdoh, Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar and Nujorki Sungoh with the NPP under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India, which deals with mergers in the context of the anti-defection law.
The development follows the earlier recognition of the merger of eight UDP legislators with the BJP on October 16, which had reduced the UDP strength from 12 to four members.
According to the Assembly Secretariat’s latest order, a communication dated October 17 was submitted to the Speaker by three of the four remaining UDP legislators, informing him that they had decided and agreed to merge with the NPP in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
The letter was placed before the Speaker on October 19, following which he directed the three legislators to appear in person to verify its contents. The legislators appeared before him on the same day, confirmed the contents of the communication and reiterated their decision to merge with the NPP.
After examining the matter and being satisfied that the legislators had voluntarily taken the decision, the Speaker accepted the merger and the Secretariat subsequently directed that the three legislators be allotted seats in the Assembly as members of the NPP.
The latest order marks a further setback for the UDP, one of Meghalaya’s established regional political parties, which has now seen 11 of its 12 legislators move to the BJP and NPP through the two separate mergers recognised by the Speaker.
With the eight legislators already recognised as members of the BJP and the latest three now formally recognised as members of the NPP, the UDP is left with Metbah Lyngdoh as its lone representative in the Assembly.
The sequence of developments has significantly altered the political composition of the House. The NPP, with three more MLAs, now holds a commanding strength within the ruling political establishment.