Ampareen Lyngdoh

Ampareen Lyngdoh
Official portrait
Cabinet Minister, Government of Meghalaya
In office
7 March 2023 – 16 September 2025
Chief MinisterConrad Sangma
Portfolios
  • Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • Health and Family Welfare
  • Information and Public Relations
  • Law
Preceded by
Succeeded by
In office
12 March 2013 – 6 March 2018
Chief MinisterMukul Sangma
Portfolios
  • Labour
  • Urban Affairs, Municipal Administration (until 2016)
  • Public Works Department (Buildings) (from 2016)
In office
24 April 2010 – 1 March 2013
Chief MinisterMukul Sangma
Portfolios
  • School Education and Literacy (until 2011)
  • Higher and Technical Education (until 2011)
  • Science and Technology (from 2011)
  • Urban Affairs (from 2011)
  • Municipal Administration and Housing (from 2011)
In office
13 May 2009 – 19 April 2010
Chief MinisterD. D. Lapang
Portfolios
  • Elementary and Mass Education
  • Higher and Technical Education
  • Printing and Stationery
Member, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
2013
Preceded byConstituency established
ConstituencyEast Shillong
In office
2008–2013
Preceded byRobert Garnett Lyngdoh
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
ConstituencyLaitumkhrah
Personal details
Born (1965-05-05) 5 May 1965
Shillong, India
PartyNational People's Party (2022-present)
Other political
affiliations
SpouseFantin Joseph Lakadong
Children3
Parent
EducationBachelor of Arts, Jesus and Mary College
Master of Arts, Jamia Millia Islamia
Ph.D., North Eastern Hill University.
Alma materLoreto Convent, Shillong
Jesus & Mary College, University of Delhi
Jamia Milia Islamia
North Eastern Hill University (Ph.D)
OccupationPolitician, former lecturer

Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh (born 5 May 1965) is an Indian politician who has consecutively served as a legislator from the Indian state of Meghalaya since 2008. She serves as the Adviser to the Government of Meghalaya. Lyngdoh served as a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Meghalaya across multiple administrations, holding office at various times between 2009 and 2025.

During her tenure, she oversaw portfolios including Labour Affairs, Information Technology, Information & Broadcasting, Housing, and Urban Development between 2013 and 2018, and earlier served as Minister for Education from 2009 to 2013. More recently, her ministerial responsibilities have encompassed Health & Family Welfare, Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, and Information & Public Relations, where she was also the sole female minister in the MDA‑II government.

Notably, she was the only female member of the 60‑member Meghalaya Legislative Assembly from 2008 to 2013. Prior to entering active politics, she taught mass communication as a lecturer at St. Anthony’s College, Shillong.

Early life and family

Ampareen Lyngdoh was born in Shillong. She is the daughter of Peter G. Marbaniang and Q. E. Lyngdoh.

Her father was a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, and also served as a minister in the state government.

Her late brother, Robert Garnett Lyngdoh, was a member of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and served as Home Minister in the Government of Meghalaya.

She is married and has three children.

Education

Lyngdoh completed her school education at the Loreto Convent, Shillong.

She pursued her undergraduate degree in English at the Jesus and Mary College at the University of Delhi.[1] She graduated from Jamia Milia Islamia University in 1990 with a master's degree in Mass Communication.[2]

In 2013, Lyngdoh earned a Ph.D. from the North Eastern Hill University. The title of her thesis was Influence of Media on Public Opinion During The Periods of Social Unrest: A Study of Meghalaya.[3]

Early career

Lyngdoh was a lecturer of Mass Communications at St. Anthony's College, Shillong where she was the head of the Department of Mass Communication.[4]

Political career

She started her political career as a member of the Indian Youth Congress, and was closely involved in the election campaigns of her father, Peter G. Marbaniang and her brother Robert G. Lyngdoh before joining active politics. They were both leaders of the Indian National Congress.

President Shri Pranab Mukherjee with the Speaker, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, Shri A.T. Mondal and Ampareen Lyngdoh, Minister, Government of Meghalaya along with MLAs from Meghalaya, in New Delhi on 1 May 2013

United Democratic Party

Lyngdoh briefly joined the United Democratic Party (UDP) in 2008 after the Indian National Congress refused to give her a ticket to contest the 2008 state Assembly elections.[5]

When the United Democratic Party gave her an election ticket, 44 members of the party resigned in protest because her brother Robert G Lyngdoh was a Congress legislator and the state's minister for education at that time.[6]

As a candidate from the United Democratic Party, Lyngdoh won the 2008 state assembly elections from the Laitumkhrah constituency, a stronghold of her family from which her father and her brother had been elected earlier to become the only woman MLA in the 8th Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. She defeated Malcom B Tariang, who fought the election as an independent candidate.[7]

Re-joining the Indian National Congress and subsequent suspension

Lyngdoh met Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi, after which she resigned from the United Democratic Party and the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on 31 March 2009.[8]

She re-joined the Congress, her party rewarding her by making her the state's minister for education, although she was no longer a legislator.[5] Her resignation from the Assembly resulted in a by-election, which she won in August 2009. Once again, she defeated Tariang, who fought as a UDP candidate this time.[7]

She was the only female legislator in the Meghalaya Assembly from 2008 to 2013.[7][9] During these five years, her assets increased by 9000%, from ₹ 23,518 to ₹ 2,100,000, according to the affidavits she submitted to the Election Commission.[10][11]

On 14 February 2022, Lyngdoh along with 4 other fellow Congress MLAs was suspended by the party for backing the BJP allied NPP state government.[12]

Positions in the Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi appointed Lyngdoh a secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of Mizoram[13] ahead of the crucial state assembly election in 2018. She was appointed as the President of the Meghalaya chapter of the All India Professionals Congress in August 2018.[14]

In August 2021, she was appointed as the working president of the Indian National Congress in Meghalaya.

In February 2022, a group of 5 Indian National Congress MLAs led by Ampareen Lyngdoh gave their support to the Conrad Sangma National People's Party Bharatiya Janata Party backed government. This resulted in an expulsion of all five last remaining Indian National Congress MLAs.

Positions in government

Lyngdoh has served as a Cabinet Minister in the state government, and during her first two terms as a Cabinet Minister, she held portfolios including Public Works Department, Information Technology, Information & Communication, Urban Development, Housing, Labour, Education and Tourism.[15][16] She was the Chairman of the Meghalaya Urban Development Agency while holding the Urban Development portfolio.

Following her re-election as a member of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly in 2023, Lyngdoh was appointed as a Cabinet Minister in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance 2.0 Government, she served in this position till 2025. Later, she was appointed as the Adviser to the Government of Meghalaya.

Controversies

In 2017, the High Court of Meghalaya cancelled the appointment of teachers in government lower primary schools following allegations of irregularities in the 2010 selection process, which took place during Lyngdoh’s tenure as Minister for Education. The court also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to examine the alleged irregularities.[17]

In 2025, the High Court of Meghalaya quashed all charges against Lyngdoh, noting that “the prosecution has failed to establish even a prima facie case” against her.[18]

Electoral record

In 2008, Lyngdoh contested the State Assembly Elections from the Laitumkhrah constituency as a UDP candidate, which marked her first election to the state assembly.

In 2009, following her resignation from the constituency, she contested a by-election in the same Laitumkhrah constituency as an Indian National Congress candidate, and won again.

In 2013 she contested the East Shillong Constituency, defeating the UDP candidate and then Deputy Chief Minister Bindo M Lanong.[9]

In 2018 Lyngdoh contested the East Shillong Constituency, once again winning the seat with a 36% margin. Her nearest rival from the Bharatiya Janata Party by over 6,000 votes. She once again defeated former Deputy Chief Minister Bindo M Lanong of the UDP.[19][20]

She won in 2023, on a National People's Party ticket defeating Indian National Congress candidate Manuel Badwar by 1,711 votes.

Election Year Party Constituency Result Votes % votes Source
Meghalaya Legislative Assembly 2008 United Democratic Party Laitumkhrah Won 3,775 34.10% [21][22]
Meghalaya Legislative Assembly (by-election) 2009 Indian National Congress Won 5,800 54.81% [23]
Meghalaya Legislative Assembly 2013 Indian National Congress East Shillong Won 10,103 62.9% [24]
Meghalaya Legislative Assembly 2018 Indian National Congress Won 10,368 61.4% [25]
Meghalaya Legislative Assembly 2023 National People's Party (India) Won 6,636 39.56% [25]

References

  1. ↑ "Self-study report 2014" (PDF). Jesus & Mary College. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Election Affidavit" (PDF).
  3. ↑ "Department of Library & Information Science: Dr. P. Hangsing". North-Eastern Hill University. Archived from the original on 10 November 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Meghalaya's tech-savvy neta has her feet on the ground". Times of India. 12 February 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Pre-poll jibe at Ampareen's flip-flop". The Telegraph. Kolkata. 25 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Ticket to Cong MLA's sister forces exodus from UDP". Indian Express. 14 November 2007.
  7. 1 2 3 "Cong wins Meghalaya by-poll, humbled in K'taka". rediff.com. 21 August 2009.
  8. ↑ "UDP MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh quits". The Times of India. 2 April 2009.
  9. 1 2 "Poll Results: Congress retains power in Meghalaya". The Hindu Business Line. 28 February 2013.
  10. ↑ "113 crorepatis in fray for Meghalaya polls". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  11. ↑ Manosh Das (4 March 2013). "60% of MLAs 'crorepatis' in Meghalaya". The Times of India.
  12. ↑ "All 5 Meghalaya Congress MLAs face suspension for joining BJP-backed govt". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "Rahul Gandhi appoints new AICC secretaries".
  14. ↑ "Ampareen to head state unit of Professionals' Cong". The Shillong Times. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  15. ↑ "Move to reduce slums in Shillong – Education minister sets 10-year target". The Telegraph. Kolkata. 23 September 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Right to Education by 2012: Meghalaya Education minister". Economic Times. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "In poll-bound Meghalaya, a seven-year-old recruitment controversy comes back to haunt the Congress".
  18. ↑ "High Court relief for Meghalaya Minister in 17-year-old case". The Hindu. 5 September 2025. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "Election Commission of India".
  20. ↑ "IndiaVotes AC: Meghalaya 2018". IndiaVotes. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  21. ↑ "17 – Laitumkharah (ST) Assembly Constituency". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "AC Summary: Laitumkharah 2008 Tweet". India Votes. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "Bye-Election to Legislative Assembly, August, 2009" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "AC Summary: East Shillong 2013". India Votes. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  25. 1 2 "IndiaVotes | India's largest election database".
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.