United Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | UDP |
| Leader | Metbah Lyngdoh |
| President | Metbah Lyngdoh |
| Secretary | H. A. D. Sawian |
| Parliamentary Chairperson | Metbah Lyngdoh |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Mawlai Nonglum,Shillong-793008Meghalaya.[1] |
| Ideology | Regionalism Populism |
| ECI Status | State Party[2] |
| Alliance | MDA (2018- Present) |
| Seats in Meghalaya Legislative Assembly | 12 / 60 |
| Election symbol | |
 | |
TheUnited Democratic Party is a political party recognised inMeghalaya state,India. It is now led byMetbah Lyngdoh. It was started byE. K. Mawlong.
The flag of the party is of three vertical colours with scarlet red colour at the extreme left nearest to the flag post, parrot green colour at the extreme right and white colour at the middle signifying respectively courage, valour and sacrifice (Scarlet Red), sincerity, honesty, integrity (White) and hope, hard work, survival (Green).[1]
In 1998,B. B. Lyngdoh was sworn in asChief Minister of Meghalaya with the support of his erstwhile rival, theIndian National Congress. UDP won 20 MLAs in the 60-member house and with 26 MLAsIndian National Congress was senior partner in the Alliance. There was a power-sharing agreement between the UDP andIndian National Congress to share the Chief position for two and a half years each.D. D. Lapang was namedDeputy Chief Minister of Meghalaya.[3][4]
In 2000,E. K. Mawlong succeeded B. B. Lyngdoh as theChief Minister of Meghalaya. Mawlong in his 18-month tenure was embroiled in a scandal stemming from the construction ofMeghalaya House inKolkata.Bharatiya Janata Party andNationalist Congress Party withdrew their support for Mawlong and he was forced to step down from office in December 2001.[5][6][7][8]
In 2008, UDP formedMeghalaya Progressive Alliance along withNationalist Congress Party,Hill State People's Democratic Party,Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement,Bharatiya Janata Party and along with two Independents.[9][10]
Despite being the largest party, theNationalist Congress Party gave up the Chief Minister post to UDP in order to achieve stability in the Government. There are also some reports of a power-sharing agreement between the UDP and NCP to share the Chief Minister position for two and a half years each.[11]
Dr.Donkupar Roy was named theChief Minister of Meghalaya with the support of 31 members in the 60 member Assembly.
In May 2009, the United Democratic Party and the Hill State People's Democratic Party had left the Progressive Alliance and government collapsed.
In May 2016, after theBharatiya Janata Party ledNational Democratic Alliance formed its first government inAssam, and formed a new alliance called theNorth-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) non-Congress parties from the northeast withHimanta Biswa Sarma as itsconvener. The Chief Ministers of the north eastern states of all states too belong to this alliance.[12]
In March 2018, The NPP came second behindIndian National Congress by winning 19 seats in the2018 Meghalaya legislative assembly election.[13]Conrad Sangma staked claim to form government with a letter of support from the 34MLAs, that included 19 from NPP, six from United Democratic Party, 4 fromPeople's Democratic Front, two each fromHill State People's Democratic Party andBharatiya Janata Party, and anindependent.[14][15]
Dr.Donkupar Roy was elected as Speaker of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly along withMetbah Lyngdoh,Kyrmen Shylla andLahkmen Rymbui sworn in as minister in theConrad Sangma government.[16]
In February 2019, United Democratic Party leftNorth-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) over theCitizenship (Amendment) Bill.[17][18][19]
In 2019,Metbah Lyngdoh was elected president of the party after the death ofDonkupar Roy and he was also named speaker of theMeghalaya Legislative Assembly.[20]
In2023 Meghalaya legislative assembly election, the UDP came second behindNational People's Party (India) by winning 12 seats in the2023 Meghalaya legislative assembly election. It joined the MDA government.
| Election | Votes | Vote % | Seats contested | Seats won | Seats +/- | Vote % +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meghalaya Legislative Assembly | ||||||
| 1998 | 226,026 | 26.99 | 20 / 60 |  | | |
| 2003 | 144,255 | 15.99 | 09 / 60 |  11 | 11 | |
| 2008 | 202,511 | 18.37 | 53 | 11 / 60 |  2 | 2.38 |
| 2013 | 225,676 | 17.1 | 08 / 60 | 3 | 1.27 | |
| 2018 | 183,005 | 11.6 | 27 | 06 / 60 | 2 | 5.5 |
| 2023 | 300,747 | 16.21 | 46 | 11 / 60 | 5 | 4.61 |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term in office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | |||
| 1 | E. K. Mawlong | 1997 | 2004 | 7 years, | |
| 3 | Donkupar Roy | 2004 | 2019 | 15 years | |
| 3 | Metbah Lyngdoh | 11 September 2019 | Incumbent | 6 years, 75 days | |
