The next Chief Minister of Meghalaya will definitely be from the United Democratic Party (UDP), its working president, West Shillong MLA candidate and Jaiaw MDC, Paul Lyngdoh, said today.
The UDP only won six seats in 2018, making it the second-largest party in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government but still always playing second fiddle to the much more successful National People’s Party (NPP).
Lyngdoh was ousted from West Shillong by Mohendro Rapsang five years ago, with the victor winning on a Congress Party ticket. Now, however, Rapsang has moved over to the NPP.
Going by all indications, Lyngdoh said, the UDP is heading for a landslide victory in many seats. Whether the party will get into bed with the NPP once again, though, is a matter that the former student leader was not interested in answering. “Why should we always go to the past in order to predict our future? We’ve completed 50 years. This is the first year post-Golden Jubilee of Meghalaya. So let’s work with a fresh look at everything,” Lyngdoh, who filed his nomination papers today, stated.
A government led by a single party rather than a coalition would be preferable for the state, he added while saying that he is sure that the next CM will be from within the UDP’s ranks.
On the accusation of distribution of freebies in his constituency, Lyngdoh said that had he been a distributor he would not have lost in the last Assembly election.
“The fact that I lost because of the influence of money power should speak for itself. And more importantly, people look to me as a policy maker, as someone who initiates and takes part in debates in the house. Therefore this tag of distributing stuff doesn’t worry me at all,” he said.
