The decision, taken after hours of deliberations at an emergent meeting of the party's Central Executive Committee, follows the defection of 11 UDP legislators - eight who joined the BJP and three who moved to the ruling NPP - and the resignation of party president and lone remaining MLA Metbah Lyngdoh from the Cabinet.
Announcing the withdrawal, UDP general secretary Titosstarwell Chyne said the party had resolved to leave the government at once. The party president would send formal communication to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma.
The UDP had entered the MDA 2.0 government after the 2023 Assembly elections with 12 MLAs. With 11 of them having left, the party is now reduced to a single legislator, leaving little political basis to continue the alliance.
The partnership began in 2018 when the UDP joined the first MDA government led by the NPP and continued after the 2023 elections following an invitation from the Chief Minister.
The sudden collapse of its legislative strength has left the party isolated and forced to confront the reality of operating as a rump outside the corridors of power.
The CEC meeting, attended by representatives from Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills as well as UDP MDCs, district presidents and secretaries, first discussed Metbah Lyngdoh's resignation as Cabinet Minister, submitted on Saturday and subsequently accepted.
The committee then deliberated on whether the party should continue supporting the government in the changed circumstances, taking into account the loss of its legislators, the president's exit from the Cabinet and the NPP's strength of 36 MLAs.
Chyne said the withdrawal would give the party greater freedom to raise issues affecting the public without the constraints of collective responsibility.
While part of the government, the UDP had shared collective responsibility, making it difficult to openly oppose certain issues even when it had reservations, he stated.
Despite ending its association with the ruling coalition, the UDP would continue to pursue the issues it has consistently championed through its engagement with the government.
The UDP's exit from the MDA will hardly have an impact on the ruling alliance as it still enjoys a comfortable majority with 50 members in the House of 60.
Following the UDP's exit, the MDA now consists of 36 NPP MLAs, 10 from BJP, two from HSPDP and two Independents while the opposition strength moves from nine to ten including five TMC MLAs, four from VPP and one from UDP.
Tynsong keeps door open for post-2028 alliance
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Tuesday kept the door open for a possible post-poll alliance with the UDP after the 2028 Assembly elections, even as the regional party withdrew support from the MDA 2.0 government.
Reacting to the UDP Central Executive Committee's decision to pull out of the ruling coalition, Tynsong said the NPP had never asked the UDP to leave.
"If the UDP decides on its own to leave, then we cannot say anything. But this decision of the UDP is not going to affect the NPP since we have 36 MLAs," he said.
While acknowledging that the two parties may not work together in the immediate future, Tynsong said the NPP would still like to maintain its relationship with the UDP and remained open to joining hands again after the 2028 polls.