2023 Election: 5 Points About Metbah Lyngdoh, Meghalaya Assembly Speaker

The United Democratic Party (UDP) is a major constituent of the ruling National People's Party-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA). The UDP won six seats and helped NPP form government in 2018 with support from BJP and other regional parties. This year, both NPP and BJP have decided to contest the polls alone while the UDP also hasn't announced any pre-poll alliance. Meghalaya Assembly speaker Metbah Lyngdoh is among the prominent names fielded by UDP for the election this month.

Here are five points about him.

• Metbah Lyngdoh is the president of the United Democratic Party and a three-time MLA. The senior UDP leader was made the Minister of Tourism in the Conrad Sangma-led government in 2018. He stepped down a year later to file his nomination for the Assembly speaker election.

• In 2019, Metbah Lyngdoh took charge as UDP's chief after being elected unopposed.

• The 53-year-old was elected as the Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly in September 2019. The post was left vacant after the death of former Meghalaya Chief Minister and speaker Donkupar Roy.

• Metbah Lyngdoh won from the Mairang Assembly constituency in 2008 and retained the seat in 2013 and 2018. He has been again fielded from the constituency for the 2023 Meghalaya polls. The NPP has not announced its candidate for the Mairang seat.

• The UDP leader passed his Class 12 exam from Sankardev College, Shillong, in 1988.

Voting for the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly will be held in one phase on February 27. Votes will be counted on March 2 for Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland.