The battle lines are now drawn. The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) which is presently running the government in the state and is a coalition comprising the National People’s Party (NPP), the United Democratic Party (UDP), the Hills States People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP), the Peoples’ Democratic Front (PDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has completely devalued the meaning of a coalition. The NPP has set up its candidate in Tura; so has the BJP. In Shillong the MDA was supposed to set up a consensus candidate but now the BJP has put up its own man. The BJP has also put up a candidate in Tura. Understandably, the BJP does not want to undermine its status as a national party and support a consensus candidate. Its commitment to the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) is therefore tenuous. In this situation, the Congress party might just win both seats because of the fragmentation of votes. Much will depend on whether the NPP in the 36 constituencies of Shillong would give its unstinted support to Dr Jemino Mawthoh, who interestingly is identified as the UDP candidate and not the consensus candidate of the MDA.
Agatha Sangma the NPP candidate for the Tura seat has been its MP and minister from 2009-2014. However, her performance in Parliament was dismal. Her attendance in Parliament was as low as 49%. She never raised a single Private Members’ Bill, never took part in Parliamentary Debates and never raised any questions in Parliament. Her opponent this time is senior Congressman and former chief minister, Dr Mukul Sangma a veteran politician in his own right, articulate and experienced and more likely to take up issues in Parliament that are of consequence for the state of Meghalaya.
As far as the BJP is concerned it looks unlikely to win any of the two seats. While the party has put up Sanbor Shullai, currently the MLA of Shillong South Constituency, as its candidate for the Shillong seat , the Tura BJP candidate Rikman Marak is a businessman. Interestingly, the Meghalaya BJP which had at earlier decided not to put up a candidate for Tura and even told its party cadres to vote any other candidate barring the Congress, did an about turn on Sunday and nominated Marak.
Party President Shibun Lyngdoh who had contested the Shillong Lok Sabha seat in 2014 has developed cold feet this time. In fact, the BJP here seems unsure of its actions. This is reflected from the last minute decision to field two unsuspecting candidates for the Tura and Shillong seats.
