Former Meghalaya chief minister and UDP president Former Meghalaya chief minister and UDP president Donkupar Roy asserts that the defectors will be de feated in the 2018 Assembly elections as the electorate in the state do not subscribe to the “politics of defection”. Recalling the genesis of the tie up with HSPDP and GNC to the days after the 2013 elections, Roy says that barring a few problems in some constituencies that are being sorted out, the move to form the regional alliance is one in the right direction as the party leaders now share the right chemistry. The sitting MLA of Shella, who has not lost a single election since his debut in politics in 1988, says he has earned the trust of the electorate by being close to the masses through regular interactions with the people of his constituency besides sticking to his stand of remaining with regional parties.A doctorate in Economics and a former college teacher, the 63-year-old Roy, is confident of winning again from Shella. He says the winnability factor in most of the constituencies will see the alliance through in the elections.Saurav Bora caught up with the experienced political leader, prior to yet another Shella visit, for an exclusive interview at his official residence on Monday afternoon.
Here are the excerpts:
ST: How did the pre-poll alliance with HSPDP happen?
Roy: It goes back to the last elections (2013) when the need for the unity of regional parties was felt. But it was not easy to convince the parties. Later, we contacted the HSPDP and GNC and they agreed to come together. These are the two parties that have been there right from the days of statehood …So we thought the tie-up will encourage people to come together… because we (the regional parties) were always blamed in the past that as leaders we were divided and could not unite the people. But this time, all the leaders have agreed to work together. We can also gauge in the field that alliance has the support of the people. Though we have a few problems here and there, I feel that in the larger interest, it (alliance) is a move in the right direction.
ST: The rift in the alliance is apparent with Remington Pyngrope leaving the party for NPP after Mawkynrew was declared an open seat. What do you have to say?
Roy: See, right from the beginning, the alliance had agreed there will be a seat adjustment in some constituencies…but there are a few we may not have seat adjustments…Mawkynrew is one of them, but it does not mean that we deny a ticket to the sitting MLA…
ST: HS Shylla, who was earlier with UDP, said the alliance was formed for personal benefit. How would you counter the allegation?
Roy: That is his personal opinion…he just wants to find a reason to defend himself because he has been jumping from one party to the other…But, you see, we will not take the opinion of one person…we will take the opinion of the majority…
ST: Why has there been a delay in preparing the common minimum programme?
Roy: No, there is no delay…You will find that the common minimum programme will come out when all parties have finalised their agenda…and sort out the common agenda… Generally, parties come out with their manifestos just before the elections…So, it will be there on time…
ST: Will BJP’s presence make a difference?
Roy: (Pauses) Difficult to assess right now…but you know that the agenda of the BJP is to throw out the Congress from the country, including Meghalaya. I don’t know what will be the impact but I could see that a lot of sitting Congress MLAs are leaving their party. So this may be the fallout of the BJP mission to defeat the Congress or may be that they apprehend that there will be a change of government…It appears that there is some impact on the Congress… but how far, it is difficult to ascertain.
ST: As a part of NEDA, why did UDP not have a pre-poll alliance with BJP?
Roy: You see, as far as NEDA is concerned, we have never discussed about political alliance…what we discuss is that NEDA will serve as a platform to raise issues concerning the Northeast….Then coming to our elections here, BJP is fielding a candidate in my constituency… party leaders like Nalin Kohli and others have visited my constituency…so if they felt the need for a pre-poll alliance they should have discussed before. So, there have been no such discussions here with BJP…But UDP has always maintained that the alliance will contest on its own…
ST: How do you assess the incumbent Congress-led government?
Roy: Some say that the Congress government is disconnecting many constituencies…especially the road sector has not seen any development…in my constituency particularly, all the roads have been in a bad condition for years …Roads will certainly be an agenda in the coming elections… Some may claim that the MLA has failed to maintain the road…But I would tell them that it is the fault of the government, which has failed to pay attention to the needs of the constituencies represented by the Opposition MLAs…there should be a proper policy on road maintenance …state needs to pay special attention to the roads…
In regard to other sectors, I would say that while tourism has developed in some pockets but education and health sectors have been moving slow…these two sectors are very important.
ST: Now, small-scale miners have faced difficulties after the ban. Why have they not been able to submit the mining plan as directed by the High Court?
Roy: I personally feel there should be an exception in regard to rules and regulations for small miners. Most of the miners in the state operate on a small scale and have been affected by the ban. Now, it is difficult for these miners who have a quarry of just 25 feet to submit a mining plan. At least three to four hectares is the minimum area required for a mining plan.
ST: The Opposition led by UDP is blamed for not being pro-active in terms of exposing the government’s loopholes. Why?
Roy: See, our experience in Meghalaya politics says that, if you talk a lot in regard to any department matters…speak too much against the government, it does not work. If you raise a general issue, it becomes a policy matter discussion while if you raise specific issues, there is a lot of reaction and retaliation. We have raised issues and asked the government why action could not be taken. But nothing materialises on the ground…
ST: NPP has the numbers in the camp. How do you assess the post-poll scenario with the party?
Roy: Too early to say that they have the numbers…Many MLAs of the Congress have unofficially defected to the NPP, but you know, people in general do not subscribe to the politics of defection. Those who have defected will be rejected by the people…
The post-poll scenario will be discussed only after the elections…the most important factor now is how we go in the elections…
ST: There are allegations against the alliance of a hidden pre-poll agenda with the Congress to form the government after the polls. What do you say about that?
Roy: No…There is no pre-poll or post-poll agenda with any party except our alliance with HSPDP and GNC…
ST: Some say that coalitions don’t work in Meghalaya?
Roy: Personally I feel that pre-poll alliances are always better… In case of post-poll coalitions, we find that a lot of differences arise later and the government collapses…
ST: So, what is in store for Meghalaya next year?
Roy: We hope we get sufficient seats to form the government…The alliance will get more MLAs than the Congress or NPP… We are contesting all the 60 seats…But more than the number of seats, the important aspect here will be the winnability factor, which is high.