Shillong:
Senior legislator from the West Shillong constituency, Paul Lyngdoh, a seasoned political leader in Meghalaya, is back in Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s Cabinet for a second time in three years.
After navigating shifting political equations, coalition realignments and changing party loyalties, Lyngdoh has once again secured a seat at the high table, this time claiming the coveted 12th and final Cabinet slot in the Conrad Sangma-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) 2 government.
His return to ministerial office comes after his recent crossover from the United Democratic Party (UDP) to the National People’s Party (NPP), in a political realignment that has dramatically redrawn Meghalaya’s power map and left his former party with just one legislator in the Assembly.
Meghalaya Governor CH Vijayashankar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Lyngdoh at Lok Bhawan in Shillong on Monday in the presence of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Deputy Chief Ministers Prestone Tynsong and Sniawbhalang Dhar, Cabinet ministers and legislators from the NPP and its alliance partners.
His induction fills the vacancy created by former UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh’s resignation on October 31. The UDP has lost 11 of its 12 elected legislators in less than 40 days, marking its biggest political setback since its formation in 1997.
Eight legislators — Lahkmen Rymbui, Ollan Singh Suin, Pius Marwein, Kyrmen Shylla, Mathew Beyondstar Kurbah, Mayralborn Syiem, Balajied Kupar Synrem and Synshar Kupar Roy — merged with the BJP, taking its Assembly strength from two to 10 after the Speaker recognised the merger on October 16. Subsequently, Paul Lyngdoh, Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar and Nujorki Sungoh joined the NPP, increasing its strength from 33 to 36 and leaving Metbah as the UDP’s lone MLA.
With Paul Lyngdoh occupying the final Cabinet berth, Conrad Sangma ruled out another ministerial induction from the BJP, citing the constitutional ceiling of 12 ministers.
Asked why another BJP legislator was not accommodated, he said, “So, basically, we don’t have …well, if I had another five or six small cabinet ministers to induct and the constitutional provisions allowed me. Maybe I would have seen the provisions and inducted other ministers also, but there is a limit to the number of ministers, and therefore we have to work on the basis of 12 numbers. So it’s basically as simple as that, and it’s not possible for us to accommodate anybody else from any other political party, or in fact, anybody from NPP also at this point in time.”
On speculation that Lyngdoh could get the Tourism portfolio, Sangma said, “I will be taking the decision in a day or so, and once that is done. What portfolios will be given to him, those decisions will be made in the course of time. I have not come to my final conclusion, and as soon as I do that, by tomorrow, I expect that you should be able to know about the portfolios.”
Meanwhile, denying any pressure on Metbah Lyngdoh to resign, the Chief Minister said, “Not at all. To be very Frank with you.”
Acknowledging the difficult political choices involved, he said, “Sometimes in politics, it’s not that you make decisions that are always very pleasing or decisions that you are always happy about. Sometimes decisions are very tough, to be very, very frank, and It’s not simple for us also to take those decisions. It’s not that we want to take those decisions, but things happen. And in politics, and in governance, we need to take tough decisions.”
Maintaining that Metbah’s resignation was entirely voluntary, Sangma said, “But coming to Metbah Lyngdoh’s decision to quit cabinet, it was purely his own decision; there was no Pressure from our side as such. He strongly felt that, that 11 of the MLAs has left, and so he felt that on moral ground that he should not be part of the cabinet, and he met me, of course, and he shared that information with me and. I also said that, yes, in a situation like that, the calculations and the numbers are complicated for all of us, and so therefore when inform me and he gave the letter to me, I accepted the resignation.”
