The early days of jubilation after Vincent Pala was nominated as Meghalaya Congress President now appear to have created a wedge between the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo members of the Party. This of course is triggered by the Congress High Command which does not believe in internal democracy. Why should the post of the State Congress President not be subjected to the democratic process of voting? Let party workers from the primary unit upwards vote for whoever they believe can best serve the interests of the Party and lead it to the next Assembly elections in 2023. Politics dictates that there are no permanent friends or enemies. But the deep-seated rivalry between the Sangmas (Mukul Sangma of the Congress and Conrad and James Sangma of the NPP) is almost impossible to mend. For Congressman Vincent Pala, the NPP and its leaders are not untouchable. Herein lies the solution for the Congress if it is unable to get an absolute majority in 2023. Vincent Pala has friendly equations with the regional political parties and he will be a newcomer to state politics with no history behind him to arouse any suspicions of being a disruptor.
But what cannot be missed is the string pulling by the dynasty in Delhi. With the eccentric Rahul Gandhi taking important decisions such as the one to remove Captain Amarinder Singh as Punjab CM without as much as informing him why the decision to remove him was important to rejuvenate the Party, has triggered trouble for the Congress in Punjab. A pacified Amarinder Singh is better than an embittered one. And Navjot Singh Sidhu his beta-noire is not known to be a team player.
The same modus operandi was executed by the Congress High Command. Vincent Pala was anointed head of the State Congress without taking the views of the former Chief Minister into consideration. The decision did not go down well with Dr Mukul Sangma and his loyalists. And now that the rift is out in the open the High Command has summoned both personalities to Delhi to work out a rapprochement. If things were that simple and the the irritants of difficult political equations was subservient to Party dominance and electoral goals, there would be smooth sailing for the Congress. But such is not the case. The Congress Party or any Party for that matter is the location of many human aspirations, some of which are barely hidden. Pala’s return to state politics is not without significance. He is also an aspiring CM. That’s where the rub lies.
