Shillong, Sep 25: East Shillong MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh today sought to play down speculation over the stability of the Meghalaya government following the defection of eight United Democratic Party (UDP) MLAs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying the administration is continuing to function normally.
“There is too much fiction in this entire script,” Lyngdoh, of the National People’s Party (NPP), said, questioning the narrative that the recent political developments had left the state without an effective government.
The NPP leads the governing coalition with the UDP and BJP being junior partners, though the latter has outsized influence given its strength in the central government.
“We are in charge and we are executing our executive roles as in-charge of government,” Lyngdoh said, adding that Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and the two Deputy Chief Ministers (all from the NPP) were continuing with their responsibilities.
Her comments came two days after eight of the UDP’s 12 MLAs joined the BJP, a move that has significantly changed the political equations in the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly. The BJP now has 10 MLAs, making it the second-largest party in the house after the NPP, while the UDP has been reduced to four legislators.
Lyngdoh said the Chief Minister and his two deputies were in discussions with the eight legislators, but maintained that political parties and individual MLAs would ultimately take their own decisions.
She expressed confidence in the NPP leadership and said the party continued to have “full faith” in the CM and the two Deputy CM.
Lyngdoh also took a swipe at what she described as the growing speculation surrounding the political developments, including reports about NPP legislators travelling to Delhi and the possibility of further political shifts.
“I never went anywhere. So stop making it look like you saw me on the flight and that you accompanied me to Delhi,” she said, describing the developments as becoming “a bit too theatrical”.
The veteran politician said political developments should not be allowed to create the impression that the functioning of the government had come to a halt.
