Banshanlang Marwein
In a very recent development, the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) also has just informed the media that they are going to put up an MP candidate. As much as the idea of ‘common candidate’ for the Lok Sabha election would sound fascinating in defeating the Congress party in Meghalaya, it is not so in the practical sense from what we see in the political scenario of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance(MDA) which is also the ruling alliance in Meghalaya. The recent announcement by the CM himself is loud and clear. The NPP will be contesting the election in all the 24 Lok Sabha seats in the region (Northeast India).Not so long ago it appeared that the MDA had agreed on a common Lok Sabha candidate for the forthcoming elections. But now almost all the political parties in the MDA have come up with their own candidates even while the Independent (MLA) observed that a common candidate should not be from any party.
The United Democratic Party (UDP) was the first party to have proposed that the common candidate from Shillong seat should be from the UDP and from the Tura seat it should be from National People’s Party(NPP); as if there is no other party in the MDA government. Interestingly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and Minister in the present cabinet did not agree with the proposal of a common candidate for the Lok Sabha; instead he argued that the Party would contest both the seats as they don’t want to make people feel that they are incapable of fielding a candidate for the Lok Sabha MP elections. But for a final say they have to await the decision from Delhi (so Delhi knows better about local politics?).Interestingly few months ago the UDP had nominated a leader from the party to be the MP candidate. Not to mention that the Hills Peoples Democratic Party (HSPDP) confirmed their common candidate. This has added another side-splitting situation to the idea of common candidate right from that time.
It goes without saying that NPP stronghold Tura seat will or should definitely be agreed upon that candidate from NPP should be the common candidate considering their influence and chances of winning. But recent news from the Congress party that Mukul Sangma might be the MP candidate might be a challenge to the NPP. However, the NPP is the best option if the MDA partners all agree upon a common candidate at least in Tura. Nevertheless in politics, power matters a lot. A National party like BJP will not leave it to the wisdom of NPP to decide their own course. However the ball game which is going to add flavour to the banquet is the Shillong Parliamentary seat because it consists of many regional parties. If the regional parties could at least agree among themselves this dilemma that is facing the Shillong parliamentary seat will somehow see the light of day to ensure the defeat of the Congress candidate, considering that in the present MDA government they have the largest influence in the region. Let us just hope at least this time something substantive will occur, so that we may see a new dawn in the Shillong seat.
The MDA has so much to catch up with its alliance partners as well as the new developments that are directly and indirectly hampering the alliance. The recent developments vis-à-vis the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 and the NPP threatening to quit from the NDA partnership if the Bill was passed is an interesting development. But the question remains whether the NPP quitting the NDA alliance will make any difference. The other issue in the state such as the Them Metor issue, the illegal coal mining and the tragedy following the 15 miners being trapped in the coal mine, border issue, the influx issue(ILP issue) among others are tough nuts for the Chief Minister and his cabinet to crack.
Meanwhile Paul Lyngdoh the UDP veteran leader who fought the last MP and MLA elections and lost both proves that he is not the choice of the UDP for their MP candidate because they are fielding Dr Jemino Mawthoh this time. If we go with the figures in the previous MP and MLA elections it would have been a better idea if the regional parties (RDA) come up with a common candidate but gluttony, popularity and power struggles are part and parcel of politics. However, we never know because in politics things change very rapidly within days or hours.
Apparently the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in a statement last year had said that they would not support a common candidate blindly but stressed on the quality of the candidate. As far as the MDA is concerned, the coalition partnership is not going too well especially if we look at what is happening in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council where the same MDA partners are engaged in serious bickering and slandering each other. The recent case of the CEM, KHADC who blatantly accused the MDA of being incompetent before he resigned from the NPP is a case in point.
As an electorate, we are just too tired of the blame game and the daily slurs; we just want to see the people elected to govern doing their jobs and working for the all-round development of the state.
It can be noted that the idea of a Grand Alliance between Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh for the next Lok Sabha elections has become a reality although the Congress party has been left out from the original plan of the Alliance. Interestingly in some constituencies the Grand Alliance will put up candidates so as to ensure an easy win for the Congress. Such developments will make it a tough fight for the BJP, although it is still early days to comment. The same situation could have panned out in West Bengal and Bihar on the idea of pre- poll alliances but it has not materialised.
As far as the Lok Sabha elections are concerned, Meghalaya has very little to gain since the state has only two Lok Sabha MPs who can make very little difference unless the Party they belong to is in power at the centre. It is stimulating to note that the maximum number of Lok Sabha MPs have been from the Congress party for the past 45 years particularly in Shillong parliamentary seat. Hence an anxious attempt to defeat the Congress has emerged but will it become a reality? This also reflects that the Congress has been in power for the longest time in Meghalaya and at the centre. Whatever be the case it is high time that the MPs (whichever party they belong to) should be more vocal in the Parliament to address the issues that beset the state and the region, particularly issues such as the recognition of Khasi and Garo as official languages to be listed among the languages in the Eight Schedule, discrimination of minorities and other pressing issues such as the Citizen Amendment Bill 2016 etc. They should be daring to raise pertinent questions on issues that directly and indirectly affect the people of the state and region.
To conclude, the stark reality is that political parties, especially national parties would always want to project their own candidate to ensure their relevance in the political spectrum. In that light the recent developments on the issue of a common Lok Sabha candidate is a difficult proposition particularly there are only two seats to decide the same. If a common candidate is set up there will be a lot of differences among the supporters if the party leadership fail to convey the right message to their supporters as well as to the party functionaries. The idea of a common candidate from the MDA seems to have reached a dead end for the time being. This will pave the way for other parties such as Congress party or other potential independent candidates to win the Lok Sabha seat especially in Shillong. Meanwhile we will keep a keen watch on this space.