By H H Mohrmen
In many of the deliberations about the election to the State Legislative Assembly in 2018, especially post the NGT ban on rat-hole mining in the state, the general consensus is that it is going to be a dull election because the flow of money from the coal barons will be in short supply if not totally shut. In this context, political observers also see the NGT ban as a blessing in disguise because the coal lobby will be compelled to think twice before they squander the meagre resources which are becoming scarcer by the day.
Prior to the NGT ban, coal barons were major players during the election by way of sponsoring candidates of their choice. In fact if one looks at the 2013 list of MLAs from Jaintia hills, except for Jowai constituency, all the MLAs elected were either themselves involved in coal business or supported by some coal barons.
But the jubilation about the dwindling influence of coal money and the expectation that money will now have a lesser role to play in the election is short-lived because we now see money flowing from those who are engaged in construction and other businesses.
This year although the list of candidates that are supported or sponsored by people with deep pockets has dwindled and the influence of coal barons is diminishing, but there are other major players. In Jaintia hills the glaring example is the case of a construction contractor setting up a candidate who is also his own relative to contest from the Jowai constituency. This is a classic case of a candidate being sponsored by somebody else and there are abundant media reports about this.
One may ask how or where does money change hands during the elections which is also a good question. I did my own research and found that the major expenditure that a candidate incurs is during the series of rallies and the cost involved is not only for arranging the site and other logistics but the candidates also have to spend on transport to ferry the voters from their villages to the venue of the rally. In some cases I learned that candidates have to even pay the voters for the loss of their man-days to attend such rally. The rallies are important because through them people can gauge the ‘winnability’ or the potential of the candidate to win the election.
The major chunk of the expenditure is incurred during the twenty odd days from the day the election is declared till the date when the counting is done. Wasteful expenditure during election can be curbed if the Election Commission puts a cap on the number of rallies that the candidates are allowed to organise.
In the context of Jaintia hills, candidates also incur huge expenditure on the daily evening canvassing at the time of electioneering when they visit different villages for campaigning. The maximum numbers of vehicles used for canvassing are being hired by the candidate. They have to pay for the fuel of other non commercial vehicles used in every campaign. The candidates consider this very important because it is also like a show of strength since the bigger the cavalcade the greater the influence on the fence sitters. They think that the more the people from different parts of the constituencies gather for the meeting, the better are the chances for the candidates to win the swing votes. Each candidate believes that the crowd and convoy of vehicles can also improve his/her chances of winning and that is the main reason why they spend so much money on canvassing.
This particular expenditure which is unnecessary can be easily curtailed if the Dorbar Shnong really wants to do so. The Dorbar Shnong can control the number of vehicles the candidates bring for canvassing when they visit their respective villages and better still it can also control the number of speakers that the candidates use during such meetings.
There are some examples where the community provides a common platform for all the candidates to address the crowd or debate among themselves. If a platform like this can be arranged it will not the candidates can save money because they will not need to spend on hiring vehicles for canvassing. Also the villagers will save time by listening to all candidate at the same platform instead of having to spare their time again and again.
Come elections and everyone wants to be appointed the campaign manager or leader in every village. The reason is because these leaders are paid handsomely to canvass for the candidate. The money is used ostensibly to provide tea and snacks and to fund the potential voters for their emergent needs which could include payment of hospital bills or school fees for kids etc. Such expenditures actually cut a hole in the pocket of the aspiring MLA but he/she has to do it because that is what voters expect. There are some people who expect liquor and a good time during elections. But all of them have to be tolerated.
The influence of money is also glaring if one only reads reports in the vernacular papers about candidates distributing knick-knacks and construct football playgrounds and footpaths to entice people. Election is the time when people literarily make hay while the sun shines and try to reap as much benefit from the candidates they support as they can for their own personal benefits or for the welfare of their organisation, shnong or even the church they belong to. Such reports are published almost on a daily basis and the stories come from every nook and corner of the state narrating how candidates help in constructing a wall of a church, a stadium for the village or providing an ambulance for different organisations and so on and so forth.
There were reports of Dorbar Shnong and Churches receiving largesse from candidates despite claiming to be non-political and religious organisations. Now if the organisations are indulging in such activities during election time can they still call themselves non-political organisations?
There are also reports of certain Dorbar Shnongs endorsing a candidate of their choice. This also raises a question if it is possible that the entire village to support the same candidate. If not, then how can we ensure that the rights of those who are against the will of the majority are protected? If we go by press reports there are already a few villages like Khanduli, Kyndong, Khliehriat West and others which claim to support only one candidate as a collective choice. In such cases the Election Commission should see that the rights of the minority are protected.
The good news is that there are also reports of churches which rejected donations by potential candidates and questioned the source of the money no matter how big the amount is. Although such cases are rare but it is heartening to know that there are people who still question and do not accept blindly what is being offered to them in a platter.
At the end of the day is there any chance of bringing to an end the influence of money power during elections? Is there any end to this madness in the foreseeable future? This is a million dollar question and the answer is not blowing in the wind but it lies with the people. Only the people can bring an end the influence of money power during election.