In 1998,
B. B. Lyngdoh was sworn in as
Chief Minister of Meghalaya with the support of his erstwhile rival, the
Indian National Congress. UDP won 20 MLAs in the 60-member house and with 26 MLAs
Indian National Congress was senior partner in the Alliance. There was a power-sharing agreement between the UDP and
Indian National Congress to share the Chief position for two and a half years each.
D. D. Lapang was named
Deputy Chief Minister of Meghalaya. In 2000,
E. K. Mawlong succeeded B. B. Lyngdoh as the
Chief Minister of Meghalaya. Mawlong in his 18-month tenure was embroiled in a scandal stemming from the construction of
Meghalaya House in
Kolkata.
Bharatiya Janata Party and
Nationalist Congress Party withdrew their support for Mawlong and he was forced to step down from office in December 2001.
Meghalaya Progressive Alliance In 2008, UDP formed
Meghalaya Progressive Alliance along with
Nationalist Congress Party,
Hill State People's Democratic Party,
Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement,
Bharatiya Janata Party and along with two Independents. Despite being the largest party, the
Nationalist Congress Party gave up the Chief Minister post to UDP in order to achieve stability in the Government. There are also some reports of a power-sharing agreement between the UDP and NCP to share the Chief Minister position for two and a half years each. Dr.
Donkupar Roy was named the
Chief Minister of Meghalaya with the support of 31 members in the 60 member Assembly. In May 2009, the United Democratic Party and the Hill State People's Democratic Party had left the Progressive Alliance and government collapsed.
North-East Democratic Alliance In May 2016, after the
Bharatiya Janata Party led
National Democratic Alliance formed its first government in
Assam, and formed a new alliance called the
North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) non-Congress parties from the northeast with
Himanta Biswa Sarma as its
convener. The Chief Ministers of the north eastern states of all states too belong to this alliance. In March 2018, The NPP came second behind
Indian National Congress by winning 19 seats in the
2018 Meghalaya legislative assembly election.
Conrad Sangma staked claim to form government with a letter of support from the 34
MLAs, that included 19 from NPP, six from United Democratic Party, 4 from
People's Democratic Front, two each from
Hill State People's Democratic Party and
Bharatiya Janata Party, and an
independent. Dr.
Donkupar Roy was elected as Speaker of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly along with
Metbah Lyngdoh,
Kyrmen Shylla and
Lahkmen Rymbui sworn in as minister in the
Conrad Sangma government. In February 2019, United Democratic Party left
North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) over the
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. In 2019,
Metbah Lyngdoh was elected president of the party after the death of
Donkupar Roy and he was also named speaker of the
Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. In
2023 Meghalaya legislative assembly election, the UDP came second behind
National People's Party (India) by winning 12 seats in the
2023 Meghalaya legislative assembly election. It joined the MDA government. == Electoral performance ==