GUWAHATI: The Congress lost all its representation in the Meghalaya Assembly on July 30 after its last legislator, Ronnie V Lyngdoh, resigned from the party and merged with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP).
The development took the NPP’s tally in the 60-member House to 33.
The Congress had bagged five seats in the 2023 Assembly polls. However, three of the MLAs – Charles Marngar, Celestine Lyngdoh and Gabriel Wahlang – had joined the NPP in September 2024. The fourth, Saleng A Sangma, resigned from the House following his election to the Lok Sabha last year.
Ronnie submitted a letter to Assembly Speaker Thomas A Sangma expressing intent to merge with the NPP. He said his decision to join the ruling party was without any precondition. He urged the chief minister to ensure the stability of the state and the development of the people.
“Despite requests since 2018, I had stuck to the Congress because I was elected on its ticket. Now, my people realised that nearly half my term has ended and we need development and stability,” he said.
The speaker said he had accepted Ronnie’s resignation from Congress and his merger with the NPP.
“I received his letter in which he expressed his willingness to merge with the NPP. I found it to be valid as it satisfied criteria as laid down under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution,” the speaker said.
Meghalaya is now the third state in the Northeast without any Congress representation in the Assembly. Nagaland and Sikkim are the two other states.
The Congress was a dominant force in Meghalaya, but it got reduced to a shadow of its past self in the wake of the NPP’s emergence as a powerhouse.
The Congress’s slide began in November 2021 during the NPP-led coalition’s first term in power when 12 of its 17 MLAs, led by former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, had joined the All India Trinamool Congress.
Over time, three other MLAs joined the NPP, and the remaining two others embraced the regional United Democratic Party. The Congress had no MLA when it contested the 2023 Assembly elections.