Meghalaya: Paul Lyngdoh's portfolio by Tuesday; 3 TMC MDCs to join NPP

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Monday, November 2, that he will decide by Tuesday which portfolios go to newly sworn-in minister Paul Lyngdoh, and confirmed that three sitting district council members of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will join his National People's Party (NPP) on Wednesday, November 4.

Lyngdoh, the West Shillong MLA, was sworn in as a cabinet minister on Monday by Governor C H Vijayashankar, in the presence of the Chief Minister, both Deputy Chief Ministers and other ministers, Syllad and Meghalaya Monitor reported. He recently moved to the NPP with two other former United Democratic Party (UDP) legislators.

Tourism question

Asked whether Lyngdoh would get the tourism department again, the Chief Minister said he had not reached a final decision. "I will be taking the decision in a day or so," Sangma said, adding that the portfolios should be known by Tuesday.

Lyngdoh told reporters after his swearing-in that the Chief Minister had indicated "continuity" as far as tourism was concerned. He said he would focus on completing pending tourism projects. He has held the tourism portfolio before.

No room for more ministers

Sangma said no further inductions were possible because Meghalaya's council of ministers is capped at 12 members. "If I had another 5-6 cabinet berths to induct and constitutional provisions allowed me, maybe I would have inducted others also," he said, adding that the limit meant nobody else, not even from the NPP, could be accommodated right now.

Asked if the reshuffle was over, he said politics was "very fragile" and he would not rule anything out, but that in normal circumstances he expected the current government and ministers to complete their term.

TMC MDCs to switch

Sangma confirmed that three sitting MDCs (members of a district council) from the TMC will join the NPP on November 4, and said details would be shared that day. He did not name them or say which council they belong to.

On speculation that TMC MLAs could also switch, he said no such communication had reached him. "We just wait as the situation unfolds," he said.

Background

Lyngdoh's induction followed the resignation of Metbah Lyngdoh, the UDP's last minister in the cabinet, after most of the UDP's MLAs moved to the NPP. The NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government has been strengthening its numbers ahead of the 2028 Assembly election, while the TMC is one of the main opposition parties in the state.

NEInsider will update this story when portfolios are announced and the MDCs join the NPP.