Sonia Gandhi could not have seen the devastation caused by reckless coal mining in Jaintia Hills. The lady is being air-lifted to Jowai and from there to Tura in Garo Hills for her poll campaign. She has been given a written script and has read it down to the ‘T’. As the head honcho of one of the world’s oldest party, Ms Gandhi is expected to have on her fingertips the basic problems faced by the people of Meghalaya and to promise to address at least some of those, if not all, if the Congress returns to power. This is the least expected of an intelligent and dynamic politician with her fingers on the pulse of the people. Alas! The Congress camp followers as usual spent more time decking up their supremo in traditional attire as if that really mattered to the people. It is rather incongruous to be addressing a political rally where the poor attend in large numbers and to be decked up in gold and coral embedded jewellery. And it can be assumed that none of the Congress cheer-leaders who guard her like a fortress would let their guard down and inform the lady about the plight of the people of Jaintia Hills including their struggle for subsistence in a scenario where rivers are toxic and no longer capable of supporting any life and the top soil is already eroded and unproductive. Sonia Gandhi’s visit is therefore a superfluous one that fails to resonate with the ‘aam aadmi’ which has become the Congress’s buzzword.
It is also educative that even the media is not allowed anywhere near her on the pretext of security concerns but actually because senior party workers are afraid that embarrassing questions might be fielded before the first lady of Indian politics. If the Congress believes that Sonia Gandhi can influence voters in its favour with the same old rhetoric they have seriously miscalculated the voter’s intelligence. In Meghalaya the candidate and party share a 50:50 vote. While die-hard party supporters will vote on party lines irrespective of the candidate, the fence sitters (and they are in the majority) vote for a candidate based on his/her personal charisma and attitude. The hoi-polloi look for an approachable candidate they can come to at any time of the day or night with their grievances. While this is not the best thing in a democracy, politicians have themselves made the rules which people have only followed. It would be difficult to dismantle the yardsticks by which people measure their elected representatives.
The Congress has skirted several key issues from its manifesto. Will the people get carried away by its lesser promises? Only time will tell. February 28 will indicate the wisdom of the electorate.