Paul Lyngdoh, Nujorki Sungoh and Renikton Tongkhar to submit merger papers to Speaker
SHILLONG, Oct 18: The United Democratic Party, once a decisive force that shaped governments in Meghalaya, is staring at near-obliteration in the Legislative Assembly. Three of its remaining MLAs are set to join the ruling NPP on Monday, reducing the UDP to a solitary member in the House.
West Shillong MLA and former Cabinet Minister Paul Lyngdoh, Mawkyrwat MLA Renikton L. Tongkhar and Mookaiaw MLA Nujorki Sungoh will meet Assembly Speaker Thomas A. Sangma at 4 pm on Monday to submit the merger petition formalising their move to the NPP.
Paul Lyngdoh confirmed the development on Sunday.
The latest development comes after eight UDP MLAs merged with the BJP on September 23, bringing the party’s strength down from 12 to four. A disqualification petition filed by party president Metbah Lyngdoh against the eight legislators was rejected by the Speaker, who cited procedural lapses. The Speaker has already accepted the merger of those eight MLAs with the BJP.
With the three legislators now set to cross over, only UDP president and Mairang MLA Metbah Lyngdoh will remain. He continues as Power Minister in the Conrad K. Sangma-led government.
The three MLAs constitute three-fourths of the UDP’s residual strength, comfortably exceeding the two-thirds threshold mandated under the Tenth Schedule for a valid merger.
The UDP, once a kingmaker party capable of tilting the balance of power in Meghalaya’s fractured politics, is being reduced, within days, to a one-man legislative presence.
The successive defections have stripped the UDP of its numbers, its bargaining power and, effectively, its identity as a distinct political force in the Assembly. The NPP, meanwhile, will see its strength rise to 37, further consolidating its dominant position.
The rapid unravelling of the UDP marks one of the sharpest realignments in recent Meghalaya politics, leaving Metbah Lyngdoh as the last representative of a party that once commanded significant influence across the state.