Overview
- Multiple outlets reported over the weekend that up to nine of the United Democratic Party’s 12 MLAs held or planned talks with BJP figures, with sources naming intermediaries who took the matter to leaders in New Delhi.
- UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh and general secretary Titosstarwell Chyne have publicly rejected the reports and said all 12 MLAs remain with the party.
- State and national BJP figures have not confirmed any inductions and say such decisions would be taken by the party’s central leadership, while party operatives named in reports include Sambit Patra and Himanta Biswa Sarma.
- Reports say some legislators were split between Guwahati and Kolkata before moving to Delhi for follow‑up parleys, and the logistics and staged meetings are being cited as evidence that talks have progressed beyond casual contact.
- If a bloc of nine does move, it would meet the anti‑defection two‑thirds rule, raise the BJP’s assembly tally into double digits and force a recalculation of ministerial shares and coalition bargaining in Meghalaya; observers note this would follow the BJP’s broader pattern of expanding in the Northeast by drawing regional leaders into its fold.