From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI: Luizinho Faleiro, who is back in the saddle as the Congress’s general secretary in charge of Meghalaya and other northeastern states, is going ahead in full steam for the party’s revival first in Mizoram and then in other states, besides putting a check on BJP in next year’s Lok Sabha election.
Talking to The Shillong Times in his office here, the old hand on North East said he has already instructed all leaders, including the newly appointed booth secretaries, to strengthen the party from the grassroots level.
“From now on, the booth level committees and its heads have to be identified and appointed,” he said.
Faleiro has his task cut out to revive the party before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. But before that, the party will have to work towards consolidating its position in Mizoram where Assembly elections are due later this year.
For the first time, the veteran leader had zeroed in on young and seasoned leaders from the North East. In Meghalaya, three former Cabinet ministers – Ampareen Lyngdoh, Zenith Sangma and Charles Pyngrope – have been selected to be secretaries in charge of Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, respectively. Victor Keishing, a prominent Congress leader from Manipur, has been appointed as secretary in charge of Meghalaya. Pradeep Dev Burman, working president of Tripura Congress, is in charge of Sikkim and there are similar appointments from Assam too.
Earlier, rank outsiders from the mainland used to be appointed as secretaries in the northeastern states which resulted in their lack of interest in the region. “The leaders from the region know their neighbouring states and will not have any difficulties in moving and staying in their neighbourhood to pay adequate attention,” Faleiro explained the logic behind the choice.
Each secretary in charge has been instructed to concentrate on the particular state and remain there at least for a fortnight each month. They will visit all the blocks.
The former Goa chief minister had replaced AICC leader CP Joshi, who has been in charge of the party’s affairs in the region for quite some time.
Though the Congress emerged as the single largest party after the Meghalaya Assembly polls in February, it was not in a position to form the government. However, the party is hoping for a turnaround in its fortunes from the outcome of the two recent by-polls. The party won one (Ampati) and in the other (Ranikor), its former Cabinet minister who had defected to ruling NPP lost.
“The secretaries in charge of the northeastern states who were appointed by AICC president Rahul Gandhi are also seasoned politicians even though they are young. Many of them remained deputy chief ministers, speakers and Cabinet ministers,” Faleiro said.
Besides sending secretaries to the states, Faleiro is also visiting the region on important occasions. Within few weeks of his reappointment, the veteran leader has already visited Meghalaya and other states during the Bharat Bandh last week.
Under his stewardship, the reconstituted North East Congress Co-ordination Committee (NECCC) will have its first ever meeting this year in Imphal.
While former Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma is the new chairman of the NECCC, former prime minister and several times MP from the region Manmohan Singh is its chief patron.
A host of Congress leaders from all states in the region had meetings with the newly appointed AICC general secretary on Tuesday. Among others, Mukul and former MPCC working president Deborah Marak also met Faleiro.
During his earlier stint in the region, Faleiro was credited with devising strategies and stitching alliances that led to the formation of Congress governments in eight of the four northeastern states – Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
When questioned about bringing back the Congress in the North East, Faleiro said, “I do not have a magic wand to do that but I do have a magic formula which can help the party come back to power where it once ruled most states.”