SHILLONG: Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Speaker Thomas A. Sangma on Monday said he was examining the merger application submitted by three United Democratic Party (UDP) legislators seeking to merge with the ruling National People’s Party (NPP), and would seek a legal opinion before issuing his ruling. He said physical verification of each member was required to establish their consent to the proposed merger. With Nujorki Sungoh absent, as he was in Kolkata for a medical check-up, the question of whether his verification could be conducted online or would require his physical presence would also be examined before a decision was taken. The application was submitted by Paul Lyngdoh, Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar and Sungoh, with two of the three legislators appearing before the Speaker at his office on Monday.
The Speaker said the merger application and the resolutions adopted by the three legislators would be examined in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
“Two MLAs appeared and Nijorki did not appear and I have to do physical verification of each members,” Sangma said.
The Speaker said he would seek a legal opinion before proceeding further with the application. Although the proposed merger appeared to meet the two-thirds numerical requirement, he said the matter required careful examination of the relevant legal and procedural provisions. His ruling would determine whether the merger could be formally recognised.
The application comes amid a series of political realignments in the Meghalaya Assembly following the Speaker’s recognition of the merger of eight of the UDP’s 12 MLAs with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The three legislators seeking to merge with the NPP are Paul Lyngdoh, Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar and Nujorki Sungoh. If the merger is recognised, the NPP’s strength in the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly would rise from 33 to 36 MLAs, leaving UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh as the regional party’s lone legislator.
The Speaker also observed that the latest submission was the fifth merger application received during his tenure.
The merger application will now be examined by the Speaker, whose decision will determine its formal recognition under the applicable constitutional and procedural provisions.
