Shillong, Nov 30: A sensational report in a local newspaper suggesting that former cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh would exit the United Democratic Party (UDP) in favour of the National People’s Party (NPP) has caught senior figures scrambling for answers.
It is no secret that Lyngdoh was disappointed at having been removed as a cabinet minister from the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government during the reshuffle two months back. He was axed not due to a decision by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma (who heads the NPP) or because of poor performance but because other UDP members wanted to sit behind the steering wheel.
His hypothetical defection to the NPP would be something of a surprise for Lyngdoh, who cut his teeth in a student pressure group before entering politics where he has positioned himself in Meghalaya-centric parties. Being a member of the NPP, a titular national party concentrated in Meghalaya with smaller roles in other North East states, would go against this local narrative.
Asked today about the defection, the UDP’s leader in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, Titosstarwell Chyne and senior figure Allantry Dkhar both said that they had not heard of such a thing.
However, the revolving door that is Meghalaya politics has seen more men (and some women) join the NPP in recent years rather than leave it. But, in order not to attract provisions of the anti-defection law, Lyngdoh would have to wait until close to the next state election (due in 2028) before leaving the party or resign now and face the prospect of a by-election.
The rumours of him dumping the UDP may thus be real, just hot air or part of an internal power struggle within the party.
