Meghalaya Speaker and former Chief Minister, Dr Donkupar Roy passed away after a brief illness, leaving behind a political vacuum in the Party – the United Democratic Party (UDP) which he headed for over a decade. It was Dr Roy who made way for the National Peoples’ Party (NPP) to form the Government after the Assembly elections in 2018. The UDP refused to team up with the Congress Party which had ruled the state for seven years from 2010-2017, to form the next government in March 2018. Dr Roy understood that people of Meghalaya had voted for change and aligning with the Congress would have belied those popular aspirations. The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) comprised 19 MLAs of the NPP, 6 of the UDP, 4 of the People’s Democratic Front (PDF), 2 of Hill State Peoples’ Democratic Party (HSPDP), 2 of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 1 Independent.
Earlier in 2008, the UDP and other regional parties teamed up with PA Sangma’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to form the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) Government. The NCP then had 14 MLAs, UDP – 11 MLAs, HSPDP – 2 BJP -1, KHNAM- 1 and Independents – 2. Although the NCP had more MLAs, Mr PA Sangma requested Dr Donkupar Roy, the UDP President to take over the mantle of Chief Minister for stability. That government lasted only a year. The political turmoil led to President’s Rule in Meghalaya after which the UDP left the MPA coalition. By May 2009 the UDP had teamed up with the Congress to form the Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) Government.
Tremors in the MPA Government started when the UDP sensed that the NCP was trying to strike a deal with the Congress to form a government in Meghalaya without the UDP. This attempt to betray a trust was what drove the UDP to the Congress. The MUA Government saw DD Lapang of the Congress as Chief Minister, and BM Lanong of the UDP as Deputy Chief Minister. Dr Donkupar Roy was appointed Chairman, State Planning Board with the rank of Chief Minister.
A man of few words with a doctorate in Economics from NEHU, Dr Roy taught at NEHU for a few years before entering politics in 1987. His hobbies were playing chess, fishing and reading. He never courted controversy and kept away from media glare. Dr Roy had once said that he believed in value-based politics but the harsh realities of this dodgy world must have dawned on him too late. Always respectful and never given to harsh language, Dr Donkupar Roy was the perfect gentleman and perhaps a misfit for the murky world of politics.