Metbah Lyngdoh quits Meghalaya cabinet as party shrinks to one MLA
Metbah Lyngdoh, president of the United Democratic Party (UDP) in the north-eastern Indian state of Meghalaya, resigned from the state cabinet on Saturday, 31 October, after 11 of his party’s 12 lawmakers left the party, leaving him its only member in the 60-seat Assembly.
Lyngdoh, who held the Power, Water Resources, Taxation and Textiles portfolios, said he had sent his resignation letter to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma with immediate effect. “After 11 MLAs have left me as a lone MLA and the party, after very thorough and careful consideration I have taken the decision that I will not be able to continue as Cabinet Minister in the MDA government,” he told reporters in Shillong.
Eight of the departing lawmakers joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in September, a move the Assembly Speaker recognised as a merger in mid-October, while three more joined Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP) this month, according to local reports. Lyngdoh said the decision was his own and not taken under pressure, and he declined to say whether his party had been betrayed by its coalition partners.
Why it matters
The UDP had been a partner in the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government since 2018, so the walkout leaves one of the coalition’s oldest allies reduced to a single seat. The NPP’s strength has risen to 36 in the 60-seat Assembly, which gives Sangma’s party a comfortable position on its own — and leaves the UDP’s future role in the government an open question.
What happens next
Lyngdoh said quitting the cabinet was only the first decision. His party’s Central Executive Committee was expected to meet on 3 November to decide whether the UDP would keep supporting the MDA government or move to the opposition benches. The Chief Minister’s office had not publicly commented on the resignation by Saturday evening, and it was not yet known who would take over Lyngdoh’s portfolios.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
Sources
- https://meghalayatimes.in/metbah-gives-up-cabinet-berth/ (Meghalaya Times, 31 October 2026)
- https://meghalayadaily.in/metbah-lyngdoh-resigns-meghalaya-cabinet-minister/ (Meghalaya Daily, 31 October 2026)
- https://neinsider.com/meghalaya/metbah-lyngdoh-quits-meghalaya-cabinet-as-udp-shrinks-to-one-mla-d75d1d (NE Insider, 31 October 2026)
