Elections are eight months away yet the preparation for this game of thrones has begun in right earnest. Individuals who were in the BJP until yesterday shift their loyalties to the Congress the next day and have begun to sing praises of that Party. You wonder if this is for real or just a stupid game aimed at confounding voters. And the names that have begun to come up inspire no one because political leadership is no joke. Apart from integrity which people have long since given up expecting from politicians, technical skills to handle challenging assignments, fiscal matters, policies, plans, projects, ideas and innovative solutions to problems are integral characteristics that every politician must have. Since politicians play significant roles in the administrative processes, and also because they have to make public policies and laws in an era where knowledge is power, they should be well-educated and able to understand not just local politics but national and global politics as well because even policies in distant lands can impinge on the local economy. Do we have such leaders?
Meghalaya has consistently elected politicians with no leadership qualities. And if they had those qualities they abandoned them after joining politics. Someone termed Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma a dictator and a one-man army. If the other MLAs/Ministers in the Government today had some spine they would not have allowed the CM to hijack the entire government nor should they have supported him unquestioningly. It is evident that no one has dared question the CMs many decisions or engaged him in an intelligent debate about some of the hare- brained schemes that have been implemented with much fanfare. Meghalaya is the abode of music, yet the only state- of- the- art auditorium has been appropriated and turned into a venue for the state assembly because even after 16 years the state could not build an assembly building. The much touted performing arts auditorium has run into rough weather. The proposed medical colleges have failed to come up. So what exactly are the development claims of the MUA Government in the last 7 years? Isn’t this a reflection of a leadership vacuum? Leadership is not just about waxing eloquent about grandiose schemes but about completing them within a definite time line. That is genuine political leadership! Everything else is political branding and unfortunately politicians are buying into a brand name – that of a political party. A political party in itself is meaningless if the people in it do not show any signs of statesmanship!