By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 30: The National People’s Party (NPP) state leadership has firmly dismissed swirling reports that former Cabinet Minister and UDP MLA Paul Lyngdoh is eyeing a ticket from the ruling party for the 2028 Assembly elections.
The report of Paul’s switch gained traction after UDP insiders admitted that he remains disappointed and is seriously weighing the option of contesting the 2028 polls on an NPP ticket.
Speaking to The Shillong Times here on Sunday, NPP state working president Hamletson Dohling expressed surprise at the claims, insisting there is “no truth whatsoever” to them.
“It looks like it is only the imagination of someone. The party is not aware of any such plan from Paul Lyngdoh,” Dohling said, emphasising that it is premature for such realignments with polls still over two years away.
He added that no formal discussions have occurred, labeling the reports as baseless speculation.
Earlier, UDP insiders claimed turmoil within the party over the removal of the senior leader (Paul Lyngdoh) from the Cabinet, a decision widely seen as having been made at the behest of the party leadership rather than on performance grounds.
While some believed there was a pre-agreed power-sharing formula, Paul denied any explicit written or verbal agreement for a rotational tenure, suggesting that the suddenness of the decision felt “unceremonious”.
Lyngdoh notably skipped the swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers on September 16, indicating his surprise and disappointment.
Having earlier described the move as a setback, he admitted that he had nothing personal against his party, but made it clear that it was more a matter of ethics.
Elaborating further, he recalled that four days before the reshuffle, the party had celebrated its foundation day and the party president (Metbah Lyngdoh) had gone on record, stating in the media that the UDP has no plans of a reshuffle of its cabinet berths.
