Three of the four remaining MLAs of the United Democratic Party (UDP) in Meghalaya are likely to join the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) on Monday, October 19, a move that would raise the party’s strength in the 60-member state Assembly from 33 to 36, a UDP leader said.
UDP leader Paul Lyngdoh said the three legislators would cross over to the NPP, leaving the regional party with just one member in the House — its president, Metbah Lyngdoh, who is also a minister in the government led by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
The proposed switch comes just days after Meghalaya Assembly Speaker Thomas A Sangma formally recognised the merger of eight UDP legislators with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), trimming the UDP’s numbers in the House from 12 to four.
The eight MLAs had joined the BJP in New Delhi on September 23 and submitted a letter informing the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly of the merger two days later. The Speaker gave formal recognition to the merger on October 16, boosting the BJP’s strength in the Assembly from two to 10.
The latest realignment is expected to further alter the internal composition of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), the coalition in which the NPP is the largest party. Both the BJP and the UDP are constituents of the alliance, and the movement of legislators from the UDP to the NPP and the BJP marks a significant consolidation within the coalition ahead of the next polls.
The steady erosion of the UDP’s legislative strength — once a 12-member bloc and now down to a single MLA should Monday’s move go through — underscores the shifting dynamics of Meghalaya politics, with the regional party’s footprint in the Assembly shrinking dramatically within a matter of weeks.
With the next Meghalaya Assembly election due in early 2028, the consolidation of the ruling alliance’s numbers around the NPP could have implications for how the political contest shapes up in the state over the coming years.
Original Source: https://nenow.in/north-east-news/meghalaya/meghalaya-three-of-four-remaining-udp-mlas-likely-to-join-ruling-npp.html
Category: Meghalaya,Northeast News,Top News
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Publish Date: 2026-10-19 23:31:00
