SHILLONG, March 8: With two Cabinet berths in its kitty, the UDP is likely to adopt the State BJP-like setup of sharing the seats among its legislators, but discussions in this regard are yet to take place, according to party president Metbah Lyngdoh.
Party sources however say that the Parliamentary Party (PP) headed by Metbah will decide the sharing of Cabinet berth.
The two MLAs who are representing the UDP in the Cabinet of the NPP-led MDA 2.0 Government are Paul Lyngdoh, West Shillong MLA, and Kyrmen Shyllai, Khliehriat MLA.
It will be interesting to see if the UDP adopts the formula of the State BJP, whose MLAs share the berth for two-and-half years each.
Earlier, HSPDP president KP Pangniang had revealed that the two MLAs agreed to share the Cabinet berth, exactly how the BJP legislators — Alexander Laloo Hek and Sanbor Shullai — do it.
Pangniang said that the party will write to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to inform him about the agreement between the two MLAs.
“The agreement between the two MLAs is not verbal. We have prepared some kind of contract which will be documented evidence to ensure that the two MLAs abide by the agreement,” Pangniang said.
In a letter addressed to NPP chief Conrad K Sangma, state BJP president Ernest Mawrie requested the former to consider the central leaders’ decision to allow equal sharing of ministerial berths by the two MLAs.
According to Mawrie, both the ministers have agreed to the arrangement, and AL Hek will hold the berth for the first half which will end on August 7, 2025, and Shullai will continue till the end of the term.
