From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI: Forthcoming Assembly elections in Meghalaya are fraught with imponderables and uncertainties. Hardly three months are left for the polls which are likely in the early part of next year and official announcement is expected as early as this year end. But the ruling alliance is yet to gird its loins although the main opposition NCP turned NPP has declared its candidates some time ago.
“Our electioneering is still within drawing rooms and actual preparation will start only towards next month end,” a senior Congress functionary told, The Shillong Times. The ruling coalition seems to be unmindful of the fact that for the first time in the State’s history the assembly polls will be held under delimitation of constituencies.
This will see at least one fourth of the sitting MLAs some of them Cabinet ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and Constitutional authorities fighting against each other which means half of them will lose their seats. Few of them may have changed their constituencies but that would not be of much help.
Three prominent leaders — Purno A Sangma, Friday Lyngdoh and J D Rymbai — have decided not to throw in their hats in the ring and will not contest the 2013 election.
One MLA, Masonsing Sangma expired last month and few will not be given tickets because of internal rivalry. This would mean many new faces and some independents taking the plunge. This might make government formation in 2013 a jittery business.
The electoral prospects of some of the sitting ministers are evenly poised and many of them are sitting pretty and confident of winning. Some are sure of victory despite their indifferent performance because their rivals are non-serious contenders.
But problems will start for some of the remaining or just converted Independent candidates. In all likelihood they will get Congress tickets but those they defeated in the last elections will contest as rebels cutting into their vote banks. Moreover, the Congress cannot deny them tickets since it was a promise it had to abide by.
But if this is the plight of the individual candidates, the political parties are not in a better position either. Congress as usual is divided into several factions so also its major alliance partner UDP. “In some cases the fight will be between candidates of the same party,” a senior member of a political party observed.
HSPDP is already vertically divided with both MLAs going in different directions. KHNAM has already merged with UDP but its remnants are still going by the same name thereby creating confusion in the voters.
The main opposition NPP is facing the polls for the first time in the hill state and two of its prominent leaders have remained in NCP. If the NCP decides to put up candidates they will cut into NPP vote banks even if it that be on a limited scale.
Many candidates will have a lot of explaining to do about why they have jumped fences or why they are contesting from another party this time. And as the parties get into election mode and start brandishing verbal swords against each other, the voters will be left puzzled as to why parties which have been working together in the government are now blaming each other.