Moonlight Pariat joins BJP as Meghalaya politics heats up ahead of 2028 polls

Meghalaya's political landscape witnessed another shift with Jowai South MDC and former Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) Chief Executive Member Moonlight Pariat joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with his supporters.

Pariat, a six-time MDC, was formally inducted into the BJP in the presence of state party president Rikman G Momin. BJP legislators A L Hek and Sanbor Shullai, party spokesperson M Kharkrang, former legislators M Rapsang and Jemino Mawthoh, and other party leaders attended the induction programme.

Pariat is currently an Independent MDC from Jowai South and has been associated with the NPP-led coalition in the JHADC. The Meghalaya government's district council records list him as the MDC from Jowai South.

He had contested the 2023 Meghalaya Assembly election from the Jowai constituency as a United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate but was unsuccessful.

His entry into the BJP comes days after eight sitting UDP MLAs joined the party, taking the BJP's strength in the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly from two to 10. The eight legislators were formally inducted at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on September 23.

The UDP's Assembly strength subsequently fell to four. The eight legislators have also submitted documents to the Meghalaya Assembly informing the House of their merger with the BJP, with the papers to be examined under the applicable rules and constitutional provisions.

Pariat's induction adds another regional political figure to the BJP's expanding organisational base in Meghalaya as parties begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.