AI illustration, not a photo of a real office or building. It shows the empty minister's chair after Metbah Lyngdoh's resignation, which leaves the UDP with 1 MLA, as reported in this article.
Why it matters
Four Meghalaya departments, power, water resources, taxation and textiles, need a new minister, and the reports read did not say who it will be. The resignation also marks the near end of the UDP, the second-largest party after the 2023 election, as a force in the Assembly.
Metbah Lyngdoh, president of the United Democratic Party (UDP), resigned as a minister in Meghalaya’s Cabinet on Saturday, 31 October 2026, after 11 of his party’s 12 MLAs left for other parties. He handed his resignation to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported, and is now the UDP’s only member in the 60-seat Assembly.
Lyngdoh, the MLA for Mairang, held four departments: power, water resources, taxation and textiles. He announced the decision after an emergency meeting at the party office in Shillong, according to Meghalaya Monitor.
Why Metbah Lyngdoh resigned
Lyngdoh linked the decision to the loss of his party’s MLAs in the Meghalaya Assembly. Once 11 MLAs had gone, leaving him alone, he said he could not continue as a cabinet minister, The Meghalayan Express reported. He described it as a decision taken “as a mature person”.
He rejected any suggestion that he was pushed out. “This decision is not taken under any kind of pressure,” he said, according to the same report, and the Northeast news site NE Now quoted him as calling the decision entirely his own. Asked whether partners in the ruling alliance had poached UDP legislators, he said he had nothing to say on that.
The reports read did not carry any response from the chief minister, the National People’s Party (NPP) or the BJP.
Where the UDP’s 12 MLAs went
The UDP won 12 seats in the 2023 election and was the second-largest party in the Assembly. Since September, all but one of them have left. Eight MLAs merged with the BJP in September, and three merged with Sangma’s NPP earlier in October, PTI and NE Now reported. The Speaker recognised both mergers, according to both reports.
A merger matters here because of the anti-defection law, the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Under its paragraph 4, legislators who move with a merger of their party do not lose their seats, and a merger counts only if at least two-thirds of the legislature party agree. Eight of 12 is exactly two-thirds, and three of the four who were left is three-quarters, a NewsPlainly calculation from the reported numbers. The same law was behind the JD(U)’s request to unseat Anant Singh in Bihar in October.
| MLA | Party now | When |
|---|---|---|
| Lahkmen Rymbui | BJP | September 2026 |
| Kyrmen Shylla | BJP | September 2026 |
| Pius Marwein | BJP | September 2026 |
| Mayralborn Syiem | BJP | September 2026 |
| Matthew Beyondstar Kurbah | BJP | September 2026 |
| Ollan Singh Suin | BJP | September 2026 |
| Balajied Kupar Synrem | BJP | September 2026 |
| Synshar Kupar Roy Lyngdoh Thabah | BJP | September 2026 |
| Paul Lyngdoh | NPP | October 2026 |
| Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar | NPP | October 2026 |
| Nujorki Sungoh | NPP | October 2026 |
| Metbah Lyngdoh (Mairang) | Still UDP | Resigned as minister, 31 October 2026 |
Two of the names stand out. Lahkmen Rymbui, who went to the BJP, had joined the Cabinet alongside Metbah Lyngdoh in September 2025 as the UDP’s other minister. Paul Lyngdoh, now with the NPP, was one of the two UDP ministers the pair replaced at that time.
Metbah Lyngdoh’s exit and the numbers in the Meghalaya Assembly
After the mergers, the NPP has 36 members in the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly and the BJP 10, PTI reported. Both, like the UDP, are part of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), the NPP-led coalition that governs the state.
A majority in a 60-member House is 31. On the reported figures, the NPP’s 36 seats are above that mark on its own, and with the BJP the two parties hold 46 seats. That is NewsPlainly’s calculation. So the UDP’s single seat does not decide whether the government survives.
The reports read did not say who in the Meghalaya Cabinet would now take charge of the four departments Lyngdoh ran: power, water resources, taxation and textiles. Allocating portfolios is the chief minister’s decision.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2023 | The UDP wins 12 seats in the Assembly election, the second-largest party. |
| 16 September 2025 | Metbah Lyngdoh and Lahkmen Rymbui join the Cabinet, replacing Paul Lyngdoh and Kyrmen Shylla as the UDP’s ministers. |
| September 2026 | Eight UDP MLAs, including Rymbui and Shylla, merge with the BJP. |
| October 2026 | Three more, including Paul Lyngdoh, merge with the NPP. |
| 31 October 2026 | Metbah Lyngdoh resigns as minister after an emergency party meeting. |
| 3 November 2026 | UDP Central Executive Committee meeting scheduled, The Meghalayan Express reported. |
Will the UDP stay in the ruling alliance?
The reports differ on this. NE Now said Lyngdoh described the move as stepping down only from the Cabinet, with the UDP remaining in the MDA government. The Meghalayan Express quoted him as leaving the question of continued support to the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC). “I will leave it to the party, to CEC office bearers to take a call and suggest accordingly,” he said, according to that report.
The CEC is scheduled to meet on 3 November, The Meghalayan Express reported. PTI said the committee would discuss the party’s future course with leaders and office-bearers. Until that meeting, the party’s formal position is not on record in the reports read.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Metbah Lyngdoh resign?
He said he could not continue as a minister after 11 of the UDP's 12 MLAs left the party, leaving him its only MLA. He said the decision was not taken under pressure.
Which departments did Metbah Lyngdoh hold?
Power, water resources, taxation and textiles.
How many seats do the NPP and BJP have in Meghalaya now?
The NPP has 36 and the BJP 10 in the 60-member Assembly, PTI reported after the mergers.
Is the UDP leaving the Meghalaya government?
Not decided in the reports read. NE Now said the UDP would stay in the MDA, while The Meghalayan Express said the party's CEC would decide on 3 November.