SHILLONG — Congress MP from Tura Saleng A. Sangma has questioned why eight UDP MLAs switched to the BJP despite already being part of the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), saying the move raises questions about their trust in Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and the government.
Saleng said several issues cited by the MLAs, including the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule, had already been taken up by the Chief Minister with the Centre.
“If they have trusted this particular government for whatever demand or issues that they have because these things were already taken up by the Chief Minister of Meghalaya regarding the ILP, 8th Schedule, etc , why is the trust not there with them?” he said.
The Congress MP said the decision by eight legislators to leave their regional party while continuing to be part of the ruling coalition suggested that “something somewhere very big is wrong”, though he stopped short of stating a definite reason for their decision.
Saleng also questioned the ideological compatibility between the United Democratic Party (UDP) and BJP.
“Trusting the BJP whose ideology is totally, totally different—it’s like heaven and earth when you weigh it actually. That’s why I’m also surprised,” he said.
He said voters had elected the MLAs under the identity of a regional party and questioned whether switching to the BJP amounted to moving away from the mandate under which they were elected. On the possible motivations behind the switch, Saleng said there could be personal considerations, including greater political influence.
“Maybe they might have some personal agenda, personal issues. Maybe they were—I won’t say greedy, but maybe power hungry,” he said.
He also suggested the MLAs may have believed joining the BJP could give them greater access to power.
The Congress MP declined to predict what the development would mean for the 2028 Assembly election, saying voter preferences could change before then.
“Right now, you cannot predict precisely what will be the effect afterwards, since I’m not the prophet or the fortune teller, because people’s mindset always swings,” Saleng said.
Eight of UDP’s 12 MLAs joined the BJP on September 23, taking the BJP’s strength in the Assembly from two to 10, while the UDP was reduced to four legislators. Both parties remain constituents of the MDA government.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has said the switch will not affect the functioning of the coalition.
Saleng said the eventual political impact would be determined by voters rather than the decisions of individual legislators.
