Five Time Chief Minister and veteran politician DD Lapang, who was also former President Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), has decided to finally call it quits from the Party he has served for over forty years. Lapang addressed his resignation letter to AICC Chief, Rahul Gandhi and expressed his dissatisfaction at being relegated to the position of a non-entity in the Party after he was unceremoniously relieved from the post of President of the State Congress Party in December last year to gear up for the State Assembly elections held this year. While Rahul Gandhi is under pressure to appoint younger leaders to rejuvenate the moribund Party, the decision to pull the plug out of elderly serving Congress men and women because they can no longer contribute as effectively as they have done in the prime of their political careers, is bound to create dissonance.
There is something called gratitude whose meaning evades political parties. For those running the Party it’s a case of ‘use and throw.’ Political parties have little use for members who have outlived their utility due to age. But if there are golden handshakes in the world of work there must be an equivalent in political parties too. Demoting a former State Congress President without having primed him for it and without accommodating him in some sinecure position can only come with a price. Whether the Congress Party is willing to pay that price because the need for younger blood is paramount, is a matter that will be hotly debated in the days to come even as other senior leaders like Mani Shankar Aiyar, Digvijay Singh etc., are being eased out. And there is a case for taking such a step especially when members have become compos mentis and suffer dementia or speak out of turn thereby putting the Party in a spot.
Meanwhile Mr Lapang is not without clout. His loyal supporters have come out publicly to express their support for the only leader they have known. These loyalists will move wherever the veteran leader takes them. There is already much kite flying in the political landscape. The NPP has kept its door open for Mr Lapang. If so, he will not come alone but bring with him a substantial number of followers and former Congress Party workers. The Congress Party is already battling impending attrition following Martin Danggo’s exit. What is needed now is smart handling of the situation but is the Congress Party up to it?