What went wrong… we have to find out: Metbah Lyngdoh on UDP’s disappointing performance in LS Polls

VPP Ricky AJ Syngkon won from the Shillong Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of over 3.71 lakh votes and defeated his nearest rival Vincent Pala of the Congress.

Despite having 14 MLAs which includes 12 from UDP and 2 from HSPDP, the Regional Democratic Alliance (RDA) candidate Robertjune Kharjahrin who was in the fray from the Shillong Lok Sabha constituency could secure merely 44,563 votes.

Compared to this, Ricky AJ Syngkon of the debutant Voice of the Peoples Party secured 5,71,078 votes and managed to have the last laugh leaving behind big names like 3-time Shillong MP Vincent Pala of the Congress and cabinet minister Ampareen Lyngdoh of the NPP.

Interestingly, contesting in UDP symbol Kharjahrin couldn’t drum up support even in the constituency of RDA Chairperson and the President of United Democratic Party (UDP) RDA Metbah Lyngdoh who represents the Mairang constituency.

In Mairang Legislative Assembly segments the total vote casted was 33,954, the RDA candidate got 8124 votes while the VPP got double the number that is 16,981 votes.

In the constituency of cabinet Minister and UDP working President Paul Lyngdoh which is the West Shillong (General) Legislative Assembly segment, RDA got 1021 votes while the VPP got maximum votes which is 5600.

Even in the constituency of Kyrmen Shylla, Cabinet Minister who represents Khliehriat Legislative Assembly segment RDA got 4224 votes while VPP garnered maximum votes of 19,578. The RDA candidate in fact couldn’t find enough support in the constituencies represented by 12 UDP and 2 HSPDP legislators.

President of UDP, who is also the Chairperson of the RDA Metbah Lyngdoh speaking to Northeast Live such a poor response by the voters for the party was never expected.

Lyngdoh said, “When we are going for the campaign, I never saw that there will be such a poor response to us. There were good attendance of people wherever we went. There has to be a detailed review as far as the performance is concerned, only after that we can take necessary steps.”

The UDP president further emphasized that corrective steps will certainly be taken to revive the party but only after knowing the reasons behind the RDA’s disappointing performance in the elections.

“First of all I should know exactly what went wrong with our party and how others could succeed. That is what we have to find out, that is the most important thing for me. I will not come to any conclusion right now. What went wrong between 2023 and this MP election, in between this one year, that is what we would like to know. So I cannot just come to a conclusion just right now. It will take some time for us, as the leaders within the party to take a serious review on these changes that has taken place in this one year gap.

There has to be a detailed review as far as the performance is concerned, only after that we can take necessary steps. Without knowing the reasons, you will not know how to move forward. So, how we do move forward in politics as a party, we should know the reasons and just cannot come to any conclsusion. I cannot blame anyone and I cannot blame myself also. At the end of the day we have to sit together and find out the reasons,” Lyngdoh stated.
When asked if the party’s strength has diminished, Lyngdoh pointed out to the fact that the number of party MLAs had only increased in 2023 as compared to 2018.

Metbah Lyngdoh said, “In 2018 we had only 6 MLAs, we were there in MDA 1.0, in 2023 we were awarded with 12 MLAs, which means people have accepted us to perform and to be in the government.”
The rise and fall of the United Democratic Party in just one year is an eye opener. The UDP which won 6 seats in 2018, doubled it’s number in 2023 when the party emerged as single largest in Khasi Jaintia Hills in 2023 Assembly elections where 12 candidates of the party was elected.

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