Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma's National People's Party is set to grow in the 60-member Assembly, with three of the four remaining MLAs of the United Democratic Party expected to switch to the ruling party.
UDP leader Paul Lyngdoh said three of the party's four MLAs would join the NPP, lifting its strength from 33 to 36. The move, reported on Monday, would leave the UDP with a single legislator.
Such realignments are not unusual in Meghalaya, where coalition arithmetic has often shifted between elections. The NPP-led alliance has governed the state, and the addition of the three legislators would give the ruling party a firmer cushion in the House.
The development also reshapes the state's opposition space. With fewer UDP members in the Assembly, the party's ability to negotiate seats and press the government will shrink, even as its leadership stays publicly cordial with the ruling side.
Lyngdoh's remarks suggest the shift is being framed as a decision by individual legislators rather than a formal merger, a distinction that matters for how the change is recorded and for any anti-defection questions that follow.
There was no immediate comment from the three legislators. Meghalaya is among the states due to hold assembly elections in 2028, and party strength in the House now feeds directly into how the NPP approaches that contest.
A stronger NPP within the ruling alliance eases the arithmetic for the coming assembly sessions and the budget. Meghalaya has a tradition of coalition government, which gives smaller parties a share of power. The shift will change the size and strategy of the opposition benches.