Cong loses lone MLA in Meghalaya as Ronnie Lyngdoh joins NPP

In a blow to the Congress in Meghalaya, its lone remaining legislator, Ronnie V Lyngdoh, formally severed ties with the party and merged with the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) on Wednesday.

The resignation was submitted to Assembly Speaker Thomas A. Sangma, who accepted the merger.

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Lyngdoh, who represented the Mylliem constituency, was the Congress Legislature Party leader and a senior political figure in the state.

With his departure, the Congress, once a dominant political force in Meghalaya, now finds itself without any legislative representation in the 60-member Assembly.

The Speaker confirmed that Lyngdoh’s merger with the NPP complied with the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which allows such a move if it meets legal conditions to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law.

Lyngdoh’s defection comes nearly a year after three other Congress MLAs—Dr. Celestine Lyngdoh, Gabriel Wahlang, and Charles Marngar—joined the NPP on August 19, 2024. Although their merger was also accepted by the Speaker, the Congress party challenged it in the High Court. The case remains pending.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) reacted sharply to the latest defection, terming it a result of the NPP’s continued “shopping spree” to poach opposition leaders and weaken democratic representation.

“Ronnie is just another victim of the NPP’s orchestrated campaign to dismantle the opposition,” an AICC spokesperson said.

Ronnie Lyngdoh’s exit not only marks the collapse of Congress’s legislative presence in the state but also underscores the shifting political loyalties in Meghalaya, where regional parties and the NPP continue to draw strength from both national and state-level realignments.