The election campaign in Meghalaya is gathering momentum. The Congress party has already fired the first salvo at Mylliem and from the look of things the sitting MLA of that area is set to get the party ticket. In some constituencies the Congress seems to have clearly identified its candidates. But there are grey areas as well. Many MLAs have changed constituencies post the delimitation, but they still want to control their old constituents as well. For the Congress party the fight this time might not be so much with the regional party rivals but within the family. Within the Congress it is learnt there are at least three contenders for the post of chief minister in 2013. Each of them is trying to woo candidates from the party and outside it to make up the magic numbers to support their claim to the top job. So in all likelihood there will be many candidates set up by powerful Congressmen who are either independent or belong to other parties. At the moment these CM candidates are all playing their cards close to their chests but the secret is no longer a secret. If the Congress party does not suffer from intra-party rivalry it could score over the others by having started the campaign much ahead of its rivals, many of whom are still in a state of flux. But internal squabbles and the bitter fight for the top post has always been the Congress’s undoing.
For the regional parties the drama is yet to begun. The KHNAM-UDP merger is hardly a merger since the UDP symbol of the drum remains constant. In a merger all parties sink their differences and come up with a new symbol. The KHNAM President, Paul Lyngdoh might just as well have been inducted into the UDP. While regional party unity is imperative to keep the Congress at bay, it remains to be seen if this ambition of the regional outfits is fulfilled. Evidently the HSPDP is not game to the merger, calling it a pre-election ploy. But does anyone really care for the HSPDP? It has lost its clout and become a one man army. Of the two HSPDP members currently in the Assembly, one is unlikely to contest from the party in 2013. Of course these are early days and a clearer picture will unfold as we step into the new year. But whichever way we look at it, the 2013 elections is not about the people of Meghalaya but of 60 people who will rule them. There is no citizens’ charter to state what people want from their MLA. It’s the same old manifesto thrust down peoples’ throats. Even candidates are chosen by respective parties and forced on the voters. Can the people of Meghalaya become the game changers?