By H H Mohrmen
The dates are fixed and the election process has begun but there are few extraordinary pre-poll developments that need to be taken into consideration because these could also be factors which can influence the result of the coming election. These extraordinary pre-poll developments may be those that occurred less than a year ago or they may be as fresh as a few weeks old. The incidents from the defection of MLAs to the timing of the announcement of the list of candidates to contests from the respective parties will definitely play a vital role in shaping the result of the 2018 election to the Meghalaya state assembly.
Never in the history of this young state did such incidents happen that and too only a few months before the election. The most dramatic of them all is the mass exodus of sitting MLAs from one party to another which some believe is not over yet. The party which was hit the hardest in the large-scale defection of MLAs is the grand old party of country – the Indian National Congress(INC). Four party MLAs resigned their membership to the House and defected from the Congress to the National People’s Party, another went roosting home to join the BJP and one went to join the party which he help formed when he was still a Congressman.
But the startling incident which took everyone by surprise was the decision of the three Congress stalwarts to hang their boots and retire gracefully. This is a bolt from the blue because it is a common belief that politicians do not retire but just fade away with age. Politicians are known to contest the elections till the time that people stop voting for them and this is the first time in the history of the state that altogether three Congress stalwarts decided to call it a day and quit electoral politics altogether even when they are still winning horses in the race.
The other pre-poll development was the story that is doing the rounds which says that the CBI is hot on the trail of those involved in the infamous white-ink scandal in the state. For the uninitiated this has to do with the selection process of hundred of candidates for the post of lower primary school teachers in all the L.P schools in the state. Based on the findings, the court ordered the scrapping of the entire recruitment process altogether. Prima-facie it was found that names of deserving candidates were replaced by those favoured by few politicians using white correction fluid. It was also reported that few politicians named by the court have already sought and have been given anticipatory bail, fearing their arrest during the election period.
An incident which could set a new trend to the future of elections in the state is the rare case of four candidates from one single family contesting from different constituencies in the state. Of course the Constitution allows any citizen who has attained permissible age and has all his papers intact to contest any election in the country if he or she so desires; but the question is how come a state which has a population of more than 32 lakh people not find suitable candidates to contest the elections other than those who belong to the few chosen families. The other question that arises is what is it that these families have that the other families don’t have?
This is one such development that the people of the state have to be very cautious about because if this trends is allowed to continue then in a few years time parties would have to scout no further for candidates to contest from the sixty odd constituencies other than those belonging to the few chosen families. If that happens, then this small state will be controlled by a few families or by one family and one wonders if this is good for democracy in the state.
And the last such incident which Dr Mukul Sangma’s detractors termed as personal vendetta against the local MLA of the area was the transfer of the proposed Block Development Office in the East Jaintia hills from Wapung to Lumchnong. Earlier an order was issued by the Government that a new Block Office would be created and the headquarters of the same would be at Wapung a village which is between Jowai the district headquarter of West Jaintia hills district and Khliehriat which is the headquarter of the newly created East Jaintia hills district.
To begin with this decision was a farce because the villages which fall in the Block are close to Khliehriat and are easily accessible to Khliehriat Block. But there is another part of the district which is at the receiving end of development of the newly created East Jaintia hills district. Lumchnong area which comprises of villages under the eleka Narpuh and Rymbai is an area which is at the receiving end of developmental activities and most of these villages are at the frontline of the Indo-Bangladesh border.
The area was in the spotlight recently when a national media toured the area and brought to light the lack of development in the villages throughout the border. Road and communication to these villages especially to Huroi, Hingkaria, lejri, Lahalein and others are in a pathetic condition and vehicles can reach these villages during winter only. In summer these village are inaccessible by any means of transport; so people have no other option but to use head-loads to bring basic commodities to and from the villages.
The truth is that had it not been for the service provide by their neighbours from across the border, the people in the area would at times have to face hunger. Hence it is no surprise that the people of the area have much more affinity to Bangladesh and even for the medical needs they find it much easier to just cross the border. In such a situation it is of no surprise either that people in the area have no other option but to use both currencies as medium of exchange.
But the other pertinent question is whether mere creation of the Block will bring development to the area? The objective of creating Block Development Offices is of course to bring government services close to the people, but in this same district we find the opposite happening. The case in point is Saipung Development Block which was created a decade or so ago with the same objective of bringing government agencies to the door step of the people.
Saipung is still one of the most undeveloped areas in the district and perhaps in the whole state too. But the sad part is that in spite of all the attempts to create Saipung block with the objective that it will cater to the needs of the people in the area, yet the area is far from being developed. The crux of the matter is the inaccessibility of Saipung and Sumer Patorship area especially during summer.
The fact that part of the Block is currently operating from Latyrke and Khliehriat and not from Saipung per-se is also known to all. This unofficial shifting of some departments in the Block from Saipung to Latyrke defeats the very purpose of creating this Block in the first place.
The last incident is the late announcement of the list of candidates for the ensuing election by the two major national parties – the Congress and the BJP. For reasons best known only to the leaders of these parties, they are yet to make public the names of their candidates in all sixty odd constituencies. This could especially have an impact on the party’s winning chances especially from constituencies where there are two or more contenders for the party tickets. One such case is Khliehriat where there are two strong contenders for the BJP ticket, former MLA Justine Dkhar and Violet Lyngdoh and Shillong South again where former MLA Sanbor Shullai and former cabinet minister Manas Chaudhuri are vying for the ticket.
Last year has seen many political developments which are of historical significance and will definitely influence the direction which will lead to the outcome of the 2018 election. It remains to be seen if the defection would help or jeopardise the chance of defectors to reclaim their seat. Or if the shifting of the Block office will help the Congress win a seat from the East Jaintia hills District or if it can affect the chances of local MLA winning the seat again. Or are we going to see another defection of aspirant candidates from the party if they are not allotted party tickets?