The BJP has not set up a candidate for the Tura Lok Sabha by-poll yet the Congress candidate’s main election plank has been to create an image of the BJP as the Party with the evil intent devil of destroying every vestige of Christianity in Garo Hills, if not the whole of Meghalaya. The BJP has lodged a series of complaints with the Returning Officer (RO) who is also the Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills on the hate speeches spewed by the Congress candidate Dikkanchi D Shira. In fact the Congress has been obsessed with attacking the BJP instead of outlining its own programmes and policies and a road map for the development of Garo Hills. On the pen-ultimate day of the campaign, the Congress filed a complaint with the RO about a pamphlet that allegedly terms Christianity as a samasya and the mission and purpose of the distribution of pamphlet is for gharwapsi. It defies logic as to why the RSS or the BJP would shoot itself in the foot and circulate such a damning pamphlet on the eve of the election. And the timing is what creates further suspicion. Campaigning for the Tura by-poll ended on Saturday evening and the complaint was lodged that same evening thereby leaving the BJP as a party supporting the NPP candidate, with no opportunity to clarify its stance. In a society where religion has been the uniting force, even word of mouth about the threat to Christianity could polarise voters in favour of the Congress. It’s a no brainer therefore as to who the pamphlet seeks to benefit. The RO has registered the complaint lodged by the Congress. The Congress believes that the voters of Garo Hills would vote against the NPP candidate based on pamphlets whose origin and manner of distribution are questionable. In fact the Party has pulled up all the stops to use a section of media persons to disseminate information about the distribution of the pamphlets, especially through web-based news portals that have an all-India reach.
The bye-election in Tura is held against a peculiar backdrop. The Congress Party is ruling the state; many officials are loyal to the government in power and would do its bidding to safeguard their own interests. Such officers are easily identifiable. That they were not transferred before holding the by-polls and replaced by officers known for their objectivity and integrity is surprising. Is the State Electoral Officer oblivious of the closeness of some of his colleagues to the government of the day and that free and fair elections would not really be possible under their watch? What indeed is the use of the so-called ‘flying squad and the surveillance team’ other than their being just a showpiece? If the flying squad was doing its duty it would have been able to nab the pamphleteers. So much for free and fair elections in Meghalaya!