By Toki Blah
By 2018 Meghalaya would once again be going for State Assembly polls. Politicians and political parties have already started their manoeuvres of alignment and re- alignment; jockeying for position; coming out with loaded statements to test the waters; flying their political kites to see who else is interested in similar kite flying. The signals coming from this political kite flying are anything but comforting and encouraging for the common man. They simply tend to increase public sense of alarm and misgiving. As far as the Congress party is concerned, the message is one of utter confusion. There is this perpetual infighting between a ruling coterie and a group of dissidents with no end in sight. The Congress seems to believe that this is the best way to attract votes for the forthcoming Assembly elections. Entertainment in life has always been provided by clowns, and apparently it continues unabated! The non congress parties on the other hand, are united on one and one aspect only – how to trounce the Congress! That, and nothing else seems to matter to them. Both priorities simply decide who ascends to power and nothing else. They have nothing to do with the anxieties and worries of the common man. Sadly the political system seems to have missed the main raison de etre for elections. No one is bothered about the real issues before the people or the type of governance that will ensure a better quality of life for all.
One is however struck by the unanimous opinion of one and all that the greatest challenge of the hour is political leadership. We just don’t have it! Quality leadership in Meghalaya seems to have migrated elsewhere. Either that or we the electorate have lost the art of identifying leaders. In the past, the early years of statehood, political leadership usually emerged from the legal fraternity or from the academia. The ability to rationalise; to debate issues; to understand the electorate; to respect the Law, produced leaders who did us proud. These were State leaders known and respected throughout the four corners of Meghalaya. The political system of today has abandoned these conventional resource pools for leadership. New criteria for leadership have been identified. Money power and the ability to spout emotive nonsense are in the forefront. We are paying the price for this new found wisdom of fools.
Today the criteria for attaining a ticket has changed. The “winnability factor” has gained favour in political circles. The winnability factor simply ensures two things – the ability to win a constituency through purchase of votes and by so winning, help the party come to power. Politically they are the only things that count. Other aspects such as – individual and personal ability to deliver, competence, common sense, understanding, knowledge, moral and ethical integrity – crucial and non negotiable aspects of representative governance are overlooked and discarded. The winnability factor has in-turn introduced a new political creature – the constituency MLA – an elected representative who refuses to think beyond the periphery of his constituency. His only concern is nursing his constituency. Management of the state is something foreign to the Constituency MLA. Meghalaya can go to the dogs for all he cares. Political pundits of Meghalaya who introduced the winnability factor have a lot to answer for. The damage done to the political ethos of the state is irreparable.
If we take the above background into consideration, the dismal performance of our elected representatives will not be hard to understand. Now as the 2018 elections approach we need to establish what is the electoral agenda of our politicians. Election manifestoes can no longer be trusted. They are not worth the paper they are printed on. It’s becoming clearer by the day that political agendas have very little to do with the agenda of the common man. As we head for elections the need for a stable Government cannot be underscored. The common man sees political stability as the means to deliver good governance and well-being of society. For the political establishment, stability is an opportunity to enjoy power without interruption. The two as distant from each other as the Earth and the Moon. If past Assemblies and Governments are any indicators to go by, we see that attainment of power seldom leads to good governance. The state and its people desperately need good quality education; effective healthcare for all; alternate and sustainable employment avenues for its youth; restoration of the environment and potable drinking water; control over rape and crime against women. Assembly debates seldom reflect these concerns of the public. Such issues don’t standout on the political radar of politicians and they don’t form any part of the political agenda. Public good is never part of our political agenda. Its as simple as that!
Now as 2018 approaches one is left wondering as to what sort of electoral rubbish the electorate of Meghalaya is to be fed this time round? Watching the Jt address of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on TV, one is struck by the emphasis on issues of the masses, of the poor, of the middle class, of the down trodden. Theresa May, on her maiden address as the new British PM, specifically mentioned that the focus of her Govt will be the upliftment of the marginalised. Underlining everything is the promise that here is leadership capable of dealing with change by ushering in hope. Meghalaya is in need of fresh leadership but will that leadership usher in hope? Or will they as usual continue to feed the electorate and the masses with a message of doom and gloom? Will fear of uranium mining; the 666 of adhar; the threat of influx; the dangers from proposed railheads or spill-overs from unresolved state boundaries continue to form the main menu for electioneering? These are time tested agenda items that force frightened people to vote for undeserving candidates. These are issues that have done little to raise Meghalaya out of the morass it finds itself. They are political agendas that have only brought in leaders with no vision; politicians who prefer to loot; opportunists who are blind to the real needs of the electorate. Time now to discard these outmoded ideas and their equally outmoded proponents. Time to bring in new leaders for the state!
Meghalaya has for the last 30 years focused on rich coal barons; Govt suppliers and contractors and successful rabble rousers as potential political leaders. The focus has been on an individual’s ability to win an election. Administrative Calibre was a non factor. Only the winnability factor prevailed. The focus of past governments has terribly been pro rich and politician centric. Governance was crudely defined as the ability to do what one pleases, the law be damn! Infrastructure building projects and pro poor schemes hijacked, in broad daylight, by a political system that patronised the rich and the powerful. To be honest, the general public has lost faith in the existing political leadership. The bureaucracy, the only institution capable of stemming the rot, has apparently given up the ghost and discreetly joined the proverbial ‘three wise monkeys’. This has left the people of the state in a limbo. The public is on the lookout for ways and means; promises and assurances for capable and creditable leadership for the future. The demand is for a leadership that can lead. One that has a vision for the future! Question is do we have it? Is it available ?
2018 is still some way off but anyone with an idea on how to improve governance and how to inspire hope, will definitely attract public attention. People are therefore tickled pink by PN Syiem’s call for a ‘People’s Platform’ to formulate a political agenda for the future. An intriguing concept especially as its speaks about the ‘possibility of forming a vision for the overall development of Meghalaya which can be translated into a political agenda in the long run!’ Of interest too is the call for new thoughts and capable persons to manage the proposed political agenda of the future. These are ideas that need to be fleshed out; dissected, analysed and mulled over to their fullest, but all the same, its out of the box thinking. Of interest is the fact that there are already people out there who recognise the need for change and of engaging the public as equal partners in the search for equitable and capable political leadership that can inspire and lead. There is total public consensus on that score. Neither is there any hesitation in emphasising that the call of 2018 is for change for the better. Whether the proponent of the proposal can carry through such political reforms is a million dollar question. For certain, however, is that the road to 2018 promises to be anything but dull.
Author is President of ICARE