By H H Mohrmen
It looks like the Grand Old Party is not only going on a downhill slide in the entire nation but it is meeting the same fate in the State too. It is rather unfortunate that the Party is having the same experience even in Meghalaya where it still has a strong foothold. After the Punjab imbroglio where the Chief Minister was unceremoniously removed, a similar incident is happening here where the Leader of the Opposition in the House was ignored when the new President of the State Pradesh Congress was appointed. And that was where and how the story began.
No inner-party Democracy in the Congress
The incident in Meghalaya has only brought to light the fact that the Congress in the current dispensation is not interested in inner-party democracy. Obviously neither the party cadres nor the party’s MLA in the state were involved in the process of electing the new President of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC). The same situation prevails even with the central leadership of the party too. In spite of the fact that some party leaders and die-hard party workers had sent a letter to the acting president of the party requesting her to reorganise the party, the leadership turned its deaf ears to the plea. Notwithstanding the fact that the reluctant Prince has resigned from the post of the President after the party’s humiliating defeat in the last general election, no election was conducted to elect a new president for the party. Sonia Gandhi is compelled to hold the post as the acting president of the party since then and sadly, the Congress has not even tried to elect or re-elect Rahul as the President of the party.
Appointment of VH Pala as PCC president
In Meghalaya too VH Pala the party’s MP to the Shillong parliamentary constituency all of a sudden landed in Shillong with an appointment to the post of President MPCC. Obviously even Dr Mukul Sangma was not aware of the developments as he was clearly taken by surprise by the High Command’s action. If the Leader of Opposition in the House who is also the former Chief Minister of the state was not taken into confidence in taking such a big decision then what does this tell the people about the decision making in the Congress High Command?
There is also a question about Vincent Pala’s performance as the MP of the Shillong parliamentary constituency. Are people happy with his performance? Or how much has he really contributed to the development of the constituency or the state since he was elected as the MP? Did he do anything except distributing MP local area development scheme to the lucky few?
Pala’s Chief Ministerial ambition
It is also obvious that Pala has long since nurtured the dream of being the chief minister of the state and this is seen from his excitement of taking on the mantle of Congress President in the state. He was seen busy welcoming old members of the Congress to the party-fold and there is nothing wrong in that. In fact, it was expected of him to strengthen the party, but the question is whether he stands on a strong footing. Isn’t it a case of Pala being over ambitious hence welcoming new members instead of trying to put his house in order first? Or was it purposely done to send a clear message to Mukul Sangma that Pala is in charge now and he is a much better leader so even erstwhile members are queuing to rejoin the Party again?
The pertinent question is whether Pala has what it takes to be the Chief Minister of the State? He has no grassroots experience as he admittedly made it public that he was catapulted to the position he held today just few years back with the support of his mentor then, Mr DD Lapang. He just happened to be at right place at the right time. The public are yet to know of Pala’s vision for the state and how he intends to improve the education scenario for lower, middle and higher education in the state? How does he propose to improve healthcare in the state particularly in the rural areas of Meghalaya? What are his plans to address the unemployment issue in the state? How does he propose to ensure urban and rural development in the state? Does he have a plan for the farmers and agriculture development in the villages? These are few important questions that one would like to hear from Pala if he is to get the support of the public.
Pala’s leadership style
Pala wanted to project himself as an astute politician but will he be able to shed ‘the just another businessman’ tag that is being associated with him? People, particularly those in Jañtia hills have all along seen him as a businessman with interest in politics. He is a businessman first then a politician, so is he not just another case of a businessman in the garb of a politician? Is he any different from the businessmen politicians on the other side of the political spectrum that are doing brisk business while the sun shines?
During the few days that he was in the limelight, Pala has demonstrated that he is still immature in his approach. His statement to the press on being asked about Dr Sangma and his colleagues deliberate absence from the Party’s two important meetings was rather uncalled for. In the process he has unnecessarily brought to the public domain the strained relationship the two have. One would expect a person who occupies the high office of the President of the state party unit to be diplomatic and restrain from making public especially internal matters of the party. Pala should instead make sure that the matter remains within the four walls of the party rather than divulging it to the press, but the cat is out of the bag now and the Party’s High Command will have to deal with it.
The other important question that one would ask is whether Pala has the experience to take the party to new heights. How long has he been involved in state politics? It is a known fact that Pala is new to state politics and the other hindrance that he had is that he is still a new face for people in the Garo hills region.
Dr Mukul Sangma’s move
On the other hand Dr Mukul Sangma showed maturity in the way he was dealing with the situation. This was evident from his interacting with the media on his return from Kolkata. He was diplomatic in his approach and his statements. He was careful with what he said and did not let people know what his future plans are. Like any mature politician Mukul Sangma made no comments on his relationship with Vincent Pala as he refused to let the media drag him to the issue. He remained tight-lipped on all questions which are related to the internal party politics and he made it clear that he does not want to make public the party’s internal bickerings. One thing that came out prominently in his interview with the press that he was expecting that the party leadership in Delhi would take immediate action to resolve the issue.
While opening the doors ajar for the party’s High Command to engage with him for course correction (to use his own words), he at the same time is open to other possibilities if the course correction does not work out as he expected. A smart politician that he is, Dr Mukul Sangma is keeping his cards close to his chest by keeping all options open and like they say the ball is now in the Congress High Command’s court.
Congress future
without Mukul
Congress in Meghalaya will become like the Khasi Jañtia based regional party with no presence in Garo hills without Mukul Sangma. As of now in the Garo hills, Congress is Mukul and Mukul is Congress. And the future of the state without Dr Sangma in the Congress party is going to be advantage NPP even before the 2023 elections are announced.
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