Shillong, Oct 19: Former UDP leader Paul Lyngdoh has attributed the party’s near-total collapse in the Meghalaya Assembly to contradictory decisions by its leadership following the Lok Sabha poll defeat.
Lyngdoh dismissed suggestions that his joining the NPP was due to resentment over his removal from the Cabinet.
“I don’t think it’s just one single trigger. There were multiple triggers over the course of time,” he said.
He said after the LS defeat, the UDP Central Executive Committee had decided to strengthen the organisation in Shillong, seen as a link to other districts. Efforts were made to revive the Shillong City unit, with around 100 people attending a meeting in August.
The party held its foundation day on September 11, 2025, attended by president Metbah Lyngdoh and senior leaders. However, the very next day, the leadership wrote to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma seeking removal of UDP legislators from the Cabinet, he claimed.
Questioning the consistency of the approach, Lyngdoh said, “If it was a personal reaction to losing ministership, there would have been 11 of us in the BJP, and not me in the NPP.
“On joining NPP over BJP, he said NPP’s statewide presence and national recognition made it a suitable platform. “NPP has statewide presence and at the same time it is also a national party,” he said, adding it understands Meghalaya’s realities while addressing issues nationally.
He expressed confidence in NPP’s prospects for 2028 Assembly polls despite anti-incumbency talk, and said his public life was about service, not posts, citing his resignation over the MBoSE issue.
