By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The debacle faced by the Indian National Congress (INC) in four states out of five in the recent assembly elections might even be repeated in the 2013 Meghalaya Assembly polls as well as in the Lok Sabha elections, observed leaders of various political parties.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, Conrad K Sangma said, “It is difficult to make a comparison between Lok Sabha and state elections because they have their own criteria and aspects but on the whole Congress has been badly affected as a party.”
He further said that it is very clear since there are corruption issues against them and also questions on the deliverance by the party as an organization.
“I think that the reason being given by the Congress Chairperson about the party’s performance in UP is reasonable since they were unable to deliver as an organization and the same symptoms are even applicable in case of Meghalaya. Here we have a Congress government which has no leadership or belief, no organizational deliverance and there is no sense of bonhomie among its leaders and as a party their performance in Meghalaya is affected. But election is election and we cannot say about it but as a party we have to work hard,” said Sangma.
Deborah Marak, Acting President, MPCC, said that in elections there are ups and down always and the recent debacle is because the Congress party oversaw the grassroots level. “We concede our defeat. But definitely the party will strengthen the grassroots level,” said Ms Marak.
About Congress prospects in Meghalaya in the upcoming 2013 assembly election she said, “It is a challenge and we will be ready to take it.”
Dr LS Gassah, Dean, School of Social Sciences, NEHU said that the Indian voters cannot be easily befooled now since they have calculated which government is working and are conscious about the government going around them as seen in case of the assembly elections held in five states recently.
“Today Indian voters are politically conscious and if the government does not deliver as per their expectation then the electorate knows what has to be done,” said Dr Gassah.
But Meghalaya is different in comparison with states like Manipur, where the Congress has retained power for the 3rd consecutive time, he said, while adding, “That may not be repeated in case of Meghalaya where there are many factors such as the coal federation and other aspects.”
On general election he stated that the assembly election and election to the Parliament don’t go together and now the Congress has to learn a lot may be on their policies and others. “Having said that the electorate may or may not repeat what we have seen in the five states,” Dr gassah added.
Dipayan Chakraborty, State general secretary, BJP said Congress is in the doldrums as they are being voted out of power throughout the country.
“Rahul Gandhi’s magic has totally failed and this was his 2nd consecutive defeat and his 3rd will be during the 2014 general elections,” said Chakraborty.
Taking a dig at Sonia Gandhi and her reason about the party’s debacle recently, he said that she is shying away from the truth.
“After UPA II came to power their body language has totally changed and people have realized that this party could not control the rising prices of essentials and fuel. Then there is annoyance as the party itself is not in order,” he said.
The performance of BJP in Goa has given the party hope in Meghalaya, he said.
“Our Goa performance has energized us in Meghalaya,” he said.
Meanwhile, BG Momin, general secretary, UDP said that the Congress debacle in the recent assembly elections will have a good ethics for Meghalaya.
“We Meghalayans have always defended the results of big states in the country and so there are good prospect for the regional parties here,” he said.
On the Lok Sabha General Election in 2014, he said, “I think we are going to see the ‘demonstrative mood’ of the electorate in 2014.”