SHILLONG: The United Democratic Party (UDP) has formally entered the fiercely contested multi-cornered electoral battle for the forthcoming by-election to the Shillong Parliamentary constituency by announcing senior lawyer Vivanstone G.K. Kynta as its official candidate.
The announcement was made by UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh in Shillong following a high-level party meeting attended by legislators, MDCs, and senior leaders.
The by-election was necessitated following the tragic demise of the sitting Voice of the People Party (VPP) Member of Parliament, Ricky A.J. Syngkon, on February 19, 2026, less than two years after he won the seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by defeating Congress leader Vincent H. Pala.
With the UDP’s official entry, the Shillong bypoll is shaping up to be an intense multi-cornered contest involving major political players, including the VPP’s Batskhem Myrboh, the National People’s Party’s (NPP) D.R.L. Nonglait, and the Congress party’s Vincent H. Pala, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also expected to field a nominee from a pool of nine aspirants.
This development highlights growing electoral divergences within the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), as the alliance partners have opted to contest independently rather than field a consensus candidate.
Notably, none of the political parties has fielded a woman candidate for the seat so far.
The UDP’s candidate declaration comes amid murmurs of internal dissent.
Tirot Sing Suchiang, the Secretary of the Shillong City District UDP, reportedly wrote to the party president alleging that the finalization of Kynta’s candidature was conducted without adequate consultation with party workers, particularly within the Shillong City District, which he described as the candidate’s core base.
Addressing the selection, Metbah Lyngdoh explained that the party had engaged in rigorous discussions for over two months to ensure they put forward the best possible representative, asserting that Kynta is not merely a candidate for the UDP but a candidate for all the people of the constituency.
Lyngdoh further noted that the party had actively tried to maintain the integrity of the Regional Democratic Alliance (RDA) and keep the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) aligned to promote the spirit of regionalism.
While the HSPDP is still dealing with its own internal party matters and has not yet finalized its stance on the bypoll, Lyngdoh stated that the UDP had to move forward to avoid further delays in reaching out to voters.
However, he emphasized that the door remains warmly open for the HSPDP and other like-minded regional or national forces to extend their support.
Reflecting on past performances, Lyngdoh noted that while the UDP’s candidate Robertjune Kharjahrin finished fourth in 2024 behind the VPP, Congress, and NPP, the party’s electoral calculations and the shifting mindset of the public indicate a strong resurgence for regional identity in this election.
Projecting himself as a capable regional voice, V.G.K. Kynta positioned the UDP as the true political inheritor of historical indigenous movements, calling it the “holding company” of older parties like the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and the Hill People’s Union (HPU).
Kynta stated that the indigenous platform is the best foundation for representing the state, offering voters a clear choice between a legal professional deeply connected to the masses and other candidates from teaching backgrounds.
Kynta strongly argued that simply coming from an indigenous regional party is not enough to secure national attention for Meghalaya’s deep-seated grievances unless the representative can actively build consensus and influence cutting across party lines in Parliament.
Emphasizing that communication is a representative’s greatest asset, Kynta stated that he is prepared to speak in Hindi if necessary to win the confidence of other parliamentarians and ensure that local issues are not lost in the ocean of national politics.
He vowed to avoid a communal or isolated approach, promising instead to collaborate with other MPs to champion critical regional matters, including the pending inter-state border dispute, the inclusion of the Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, and safeguarding the autonomy of District Councils against any step-brotherly treatment by the state government.
