With nearly 3,000 supporters and leaders shifting to the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) in April, United Democratic Party (UDP) MLA from Mawkyrwat constituency Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar on Thursday admitted that he is walking a political tightrope, as the erosion of a section of his support base threatens to complicate his electoral calculations ahead of the next Assembly election. The political challenge assumes significance given Tongkhar’s narrow winning margins in the last two Assembly elections — 458 votes in 2018 and 1,272 votes in 2023 — while his confidence that he can win back a section of the defectors has added a fresh dimension to the evolving political contest.
The developments have also fuelled speculation over whether Tongkhar will remain with the UDP or eventually gravitate towards the ruling NPP before the 2028 Assembly election. Equally significant is whether the two-time legislator can reverse the political drift and reclaim the support base that helped him retain Mawkyrwat in successive elections.
Tongkhar, however, sought to downplay the political impact of the defections, arguing that those who joined the NPP constitute only a fraction of his support base.
“As Election approaches we cannot avoid it, we have to take a final call, let’s see the situation if it is so demanding then I will sit with my people and think because you see I have got a followers of almost 12,000/- and the leaders who went and joined NPP are not more than 3000, still big chunk of leaders are in touch with me,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of electoral arithmetic in the constituency, Tongkhar said, “To me these numbers matters as I won two elections but I won by small margin, my margin was questionable as in the first election in 2018 I won by 458 votes while in second elections in 2023 I won by 1272 votes from Mawkyrwat constituency.”
The UDP legislator also signalled his intention to regain lost political ground, saying, “I will try to pull my leaders back to UDP and they will also try to pull me, let’s see who win.”
Rejecting speculation about an imminent political switch, Tongkhar asserted that he remains committed to the UDP.
“As of now it’s too early to say, I am still UDP. Very much with the party and its still not the right time to say anything,” he said.
At the same time, he maintained that political loyalties remain fluid and could change before the next election. “I have faith in my people that they will not leave me. Yes now you can see there are many who joined NPP, I agree with you but election is still one and half years away. So it is still long time because people’s mind sometimes change in one month or even in few days. At the right time, I will try and request them to come and support me.”
Seeking to strike a personal note amid the political churn, he added, “More than politics, but they are my friend. All those friends they left may be in politics but they will remain my friend.”
The Mawkyrwat legislator contended that the political strength of the UDP and the NPP in the constituency remains largely balanced, citing recent district council election figures.
“The people of Mawkyrwat, majority people who are supporting the government are from NPP and UDP, almost equal in number. Like in MDC election we from UDP got 8500 votes and NPP got 8000 votes, almost same the number of people supporting our party. So there was always talk that we should talk about development to bring development,” he said.
Reflecting on the defections, Tongkhar admitted, “When the supporters defect from one party to another, I was in a delima to say anything. How to Stop them? As public leaders we should listen to the people it is true but our people should understand the situation. We will discuss.”
He also backed UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh, saying, “Metbah Lyngdoh to me is very good, very matured leader and president of United Democratic Party. He took the right decision. According to my assignment I have nothing to see there was no problem under his leadership, infact the strength of UDP raised from 6 to 12 MLAs. The UDP Chief thinks hundred time before making any decision and consults with the MLAs of his party.”
While declining to speculate on his long-term political future, Tongkhar acknowledged the fluid nature of Meghalaya’s political landscape, adding, “Politics keep changing, it keeps switching from left right.”
