Former UDP leader and ex‑Nongthymmai MLA Jemino Mawthoh will formally join the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday, accompanied by a group of supporters, at the party’s state office in Shillong.
Mawthoh, who entered the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly in 2013, has been a long‑time UDP organiser, serving as working president from 2014 and general secretary from 2016. He lost his Assembly seat in 2018 and again in 2023, and he also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Shillong without success. In May 2023 he resigned from the UDP, citing unavoidable circumstances, and stepped down as honorary adviser to the Meghalaya government and as the party’s general secretary.
He was defeated in the 2023 Assembly election from Nongthymmai by 1,199 votes to TMC’s Charles Pyngrope. Mawthoh had earlier said that the BJP had sent feelers in 2020‑21 but he did not want to rush a decision. After remaining party‑less for months and consulting supporters, he announced last weekend that he would officially join the BJP on September 12.
The move comes amid speculation that a large section of UDP legislators may realign with the BJP ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. Eight of the UDP’s 12 MLAs are reported to be awaiting a nod from the BJP’s central leadership, while the BJP currently holds two seats in the 60‑member House.
