Meghalaya minister and United Democratic Party (UDP) president Metbah Lyngdoh resigned from the state Cabinet on Saturday, days after 11 of the party’s 12 MLAs joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) and the ruling National People’s Party ( NPP ). The defections left him as the UDP’s sole legislator in the state assembly.
The UDP and the NPP, along with the BJP, are part of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), led by chief minister Conrad K Sangma .
Paul Lyngdoh pointed to internal divisions and a lack of mutual respect within the party, HT reported earlier . He held the portfolios of power, textiles, water resources, and taxation. The first casualty of the party’s dramatic collapse is its own president.
The developments followed a Cabinet reshuffle in September 2025, when Metbah Lyngdoh and Lahkmen Rymbui replaced senior UDP leaders Paul Lyngdoh and Kyrmen Shylla as the party’s representatives in the state Cabinet.
Lyngdoh said the UDP’s central executive committee would discuss the developments and decide on the party’s next steps in consultation with its leaders and office-bearers. Rejecting speculation that he had been forced to resign, the UDP president said the decision was voluntary. We will always ensure that our decisions are well-considered and the right ones,” he said. “That respect I did not get in the UDP,” he said, rejecting the suggestion that he had left simply because he lost his Cabinet berth.
Sangma-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Earlier reporting noted: Once considered as a kingmaker political party in Meghalaya, the United Democratic Party (UDP) is now facing a huge existential crisis as political defections have finally reached the UDP’s top leadership. Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Lyngdoh said he had submitted his resignation to Sangma after assessing the political situation and recent developments within the party. “The decisions we have taken today were not made under any form of pressure. Earlier reporting noted: Meghalaya Minister Quits After MLAs Join BJP And Conrad Sangma’s Party Meghalaya Minister Quits After MLAs Join BJP And Conrad Sangma’s Party Meghalaya Minister Quits After MLAs Join BJP And Conrad Sangma’s Party Earlier reporting noted: United Democratic Party (UDP) president Metbah Lyngdoh on Saturday resigned as Cabinet minister in the Conrad K. Sangma-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) United Democratic Party (UDP) president Metbah Lyngdoh on Saturday resigned as Cabinet minister in the Conrad K.
