By H.H.Mohrmen
The next election in the state will be crucial because by that time, Meghalaya will complete fifty years of its existence. The 2023 elections will therefore be the first one after the state has attained fifty years of its existence. The election will therefore be a time for the citizens of this small hill state to ask themselves some difficult questions. It will be a time to look back in history and find the kind of people who represented the state in the last few decades and compare them with the MLAs and MDCs that we have now.
The major difference between the politicians in the past (MLAs in the first few decades after the state was established) and the MLAs now is that they were not as rich as the current stock of politicians are. At least the politicians of the bygone era that I knew, like Larsing Khyriem, Dr B Pakem, H E Pohshna, BS Challam, HB Dan, H Hadem, Albin Lamare, Mihsalan Suchiang from Jañtia hills, BB Lyngdoh, HS Lyngdoh, GG Swell were not rich. They did not retire rich with hundreds of crores in their bank accounts. The truth is politicians in the past did not do business or they do not have business interests of their own. The change in the kind of people the voters elected to the state legislative assembly happened in just a few decades.
This is the biggest difference between the MLAs of the present generation and the MLAs of yester years. Larsing Khyriem lived a simple life and enjoyed his retirement and did not even own a car when he died. Albin Lamare who represented Nangbah constituency was always humble and down to earth. This scribe still remembers him travelling using public transport and visiting the different government departments in Jowai even when he was an MLA. Mihsalan Suchiang, perhaps who died recently, was the last of the old breed of politicians, who even travelled on public transport and lived a simple life.
The politicians in the early decades of statehood were real politicians and not businessmen. Neither did they allow themselves to be used by business houses or any businessmen or women. The major problem that we have now is that we have businessmen in the garb of politicians representing the many constituencies in the state. The more dangerous trend is not only that there are many MLAs in the House who are more businessmen than politicians, but that the people who lead most of the prominent political parties in the state now are crore-patis. It looks like it has become a prerequisite that only a crore-pati can be the president of a political party in the state now. The NPP is being led by Conrad who is no stranger to business, the UDP is led by Metbah Lyngdoh another business tycoon and Congress is now being led by VH Pala who has several hundred crores in his kitty.
People are complaining about bad roads and that the state is not performing well in many parameters of development. But the question that we should ask is why do we have bad roads in the state? The condition of the highway from Mukhla to Mawryngkneng is pathetic. Many trucks break down midway which leads to traffic jams almost every day, but the government is ignoring this fact. Why does the same road need to be repaired every year? Is it because the repairs work is of a sub-standard quality and if that is so why was it allowed to happen?
We often conclude that the reason for the bad roads is because of the contractor-politician nexus, but in the current dispensation, most of the government contract works are being executed by the MLAs themselves or their coterie. This means that the politicians are themselves to be blamed for the bad roads. Politicians unashamedly abuse their powers for their own or their followers’ interests. Our MLAs and especially those who are in the treasury benches manipulate the system for their benefit. Take for example the way the tender for transport check gates was organised to favour those who are close to power.
Some politicians claim that they are compelled to do so because a huge amount of money is needed to contest the elections. They have to spend money left, right and centre to campaign and to organise rallies and even to buy votes. In a sense being in the government is the opportunity to garner funds which will ensure their victory again.
Why is the state in such a mess? This scribe has done a little study to find out how the money is being used in the elections in Jowai. The findings are that between 20 to 30 percent of the money is spent in hiring buses and paying for fuel for people to attend the candidate’s campaign every day. This includes expenditure on hiring chairs and decorating the campaign sites. While 10 to 15 percent is spent on providing food and drinks to the campaigners and a considerable amount of about 50 to 60 percent is spend on actual buying of votes and paying people to compensate them for losing their wages to attend the campaigns and rallies. Miscellaneous expenditure will be between 5 to 10 percent.
The pertinent question is whether change is possible in Meghalaya post the 2023 election? Can we expect to have new sets of MLAs after the elections? If any change is to happen, the Dorbar Shnongs have a vital role to play in ensuring that the expenditure during election is minimised. The candidate’s expenditure will be reduced if he/she does not have to bring supporters from the other villages to the venue where the campaign is held. The Dorbar Shnong can make rules that the candidate and only a few of his canvassers should accompany him/her during the campaign trail. In fact, some localities in Jowai have already practiced this in the last few elections. This will help reduce the expenditure of the candidates during elections.
The expenditure on food can be restricted if the candidate is honest and states the fact that it will only compel him to be corrupt if he has to spend money and feed them during the election. But the crux of the problem is the money paid to buy votes. How can this practice be eradicated?
It is sad to say that in the last election the churches were not able to minimise the expenditures during elections. No doubt in the last election, the Bishops and the Executive Secretary of the churches, gave a clarion call from their respective headquarters to their followers not to use or be tempted by money during the election. But the opposite happened. At the local level the churches were found hobnobbing with the candidates to contribute for building a new church, or to build the approach road to their church building; a fence or a wall around their churches or their cemeteries. Local churches also lobbied with the candidates during election to help develop their schools or other Church’s outreach projects. No wonder only rich candidates won in the last election.
If the election 2023 is going to be any different, the people of the state, particularly the educated section of the society will have to work hard to bring the changes especially during elections. The Dorbar Shnong, the Churches and the other aspects of the society will have to work together to stop this madness called election tamasha. We can only hope to see change in the state in the next fifty years if the influence of money during elections is stopped. The influence of money during elections is the root of all the ills that we see in the state today. We can have a new Meghalaya only if we are able to have clean elections which will produce clean legislators.
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