Politics · India Bureau
Meghalaya's UDP Weakened as Eight MLAs Defect to BJP
The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Speaker has formally recognised the defection of eight UDP legislators to the Bharatiya Janata Party, significantly reducing the regional party's strength in the state assembly.
LSN India ·
The Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly has officially recognised the defection of eight United Democratic Party (UDP) members to the BJP, dealing a substantial blow to the regional party's parliamentary representation. The move reduces UDP's legislative strength to merely four MLAs in the 60-member assembly, marking a dramatic realignment in Meghalaya's political dynamics.
The eight legislators who have formally switched allegiance to the BJP are Lahkmen Rymbui, Pius Marwein, Kyrmen Shylla, Mayralborn Syiem, Matthew Beyondstar Kurbah, Ollan Singh Suin, Balajied Kupar Synrem and Synshar Kupar Roy Lyngdoh Thabah, according to the Speaker's official notification.
The mass defection significantly strengthens the BJP's footprint in the northeastern state's legislative assembly, underscoring the party's expanding political reach in the region. The development poses serious challenges to UDP's viability as a political force and may reshape existing political alliances in Meghalaya's state government.
Photo: A United Democratic Party (UDP) flag on a car in Khliehriat, Meghalaya, ahead of the 2023 assembly election, February 2023. GeoEvan (www.polgeonow.com) via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).