By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 31: A series of developments over the past year from a contentious cabinet reshuffle and public disagreements among senior leaders to complaints from party units and the resignation of a veteran leader have fuelled questions about whether Meghalaya’s second-largest political party is confronting one of its most challenging internal phases in recent years.
The United Democratic Party (UDP), however, insists all is well within its ranks.
For months, UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh has brushed aside suggestions of differences within the party. However, political observers point to a growing list of incidents that suggest unease beneath the surface.
The most visible flashpoint came during the recent Assembly session when West Shillong MLA Paul Lyngdoh openly pressed his party president and Power Minister Metbah Lyngdoh on the legal and functional status of the Meghalaya State Electricity Regulatory Commission (MSERC).
What might otherwise have been a routine question-answer session drew attention because of the persistent and pointed nature of the exchange between two veteran leaders from the same party.
The episode gained significance against the backdrop of the cabinet reshuffle carried out under the coalition government’s rotational arrangement. Paul Lyngdoh was among those who lost his cabinet berth when Metbah entered the ministry.
While party leaders have publicly maintained that the arrangement was agreed upon, political circles have continued to speculate that the transition left lingering resentment among some affected legislators.
Those questions resurfaced on Thursday when the UDP formally unveiled senior advocate Vivan G.K. Kynta as its candidate for the Shillong Lok Sabha by-election. While the event drew a sizeable gathering of party workers and supporters, the absence of several prominent UDP faces became the talking point. Missing from the programme were Paul Lyngdoh, Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui and Khliehriat MLA Kyrmen Shylla.
The absence of Paul and Shylla was particularly noted because both had relinquished cabinet positions under the power-sharing arrangement. Though the party leadership explained that some leaders were engaged elsewhere on official and personal commitments, the optics inevitably invited speculation. Rymbui was reportedly abroad, while the party said another MLA had prior commitments in his constituency.
Adding another layer to the unfolding narrative is the unease expressed by the UDP’s Shillong City District unit, headed by Paul Lyngdoh.
In a resolution adopted on May 25, the district unit complained that it had not been adequately consulted in the selection of the party’s candidate for the Shillong by-election. The unit further alleged that queries raised with the party leadership earlier this year had gone unanswered. The development was unusual not merely because of the complaint itself, but because it originated from a district unit in the party’s urban stronghold and involved the selection of a candidate whose political base lies within that jurisdiction. Such disagreements are not uncommon in political parties, but they rarely find their way into formal resolutions.
Questions about cohesion have also been raised by other developments. Senior leader Jemino Mawthoh, regarded by many as one of the party’s intellectual and organisational pillars, resigned from the UDP and from his position as Adviser to the Meghalaya government last year, citing unavoidable circumstances.
While he refrained from publicly airing grievances, his departure added to perceptions that the party was undergoing a period of transition.
Meanwhile, speculation continues to surround Mawkyrwat MLA Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar. Though he attended Thursday’s programme and remains with the party, reports linking some of his supporters to the NPP have generated fresh questions about the UDP’s ability to retain its political base ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.
While none of these developments, taken individually, amount to a crisis as political parties routinely navigate leadership disagreements, candidate-selection disputes and organisational challenges. Yet when viewed together, they paint a picture of a party grappling with competing ambitions, expectations and perceptions at a critical political juncture.
The Shillong Lok Sabha by-election will therefore be about more than winning a parliamentary seat. It may also serve as a test of whether the UDP can demonstrate that the strains visible in recent months are merely growing pains within a major regional party or signs of deeper fissures that could become harder to manage as the next Assembly election approaches.
For now, the party leadership continues to project confidence and unity. The question many in Meghalaya’s political circles are asking is whether that unity can withstand the pressures building beneath the surface.
