By H.H.Mohrmen
The result of the recently held by-election which has been termed by many as the semifinal to the 2023 general election is finally out and the score as everybody know is, MDA 3 Congress 0. The result is definitely not music to the ears of the leaders and Congress party workers in the state. But the defeat can be a lesson for the party. The Congress debacle is both a good and bad news for the grand old party of the country. The good news is if the party leaders learn from the defeat and try to understand the causes of the defeat by analysing the three by-elections in detail. The bad news is, if in spite of the defeat the party leaders continue on their ego trip and do not learn from their mistakes. If the leaders continue to ride on their ego horses instead of addressing the issue at hand, then the party is destined for doom in the next election.
President has to take the responsibility
If any change is to happen it has to be from the top. As any good leader Vincent H Pala should come out and accept the defeat. That should be the first step that he makes after the debacle. In fact, that is what Pala should do immediately on his return from Glasgow. The problem with Pala is the trust deficit that he carries as baggage from his earlier dealings with those who know him and even those within his own party. Pala has to be honest and show that he really means it this time if he is to regain the trust of the public and even his party workers. Mere words will not do, he has to show to the public and the party workers that he really wants the party to succeed this time.
The first step towards achieving the goal is for Pala to declare that he has decided not to contest the next Assembly election this time around. He should categorically state that he will put all his time and energy in building the party and ensuring that it wins the 2023 election.
After all, Pala is already a known face in the party circles in Delhi and a leader at the national level. He is already a big fish in the Party and should leave the state to the state leaders. And if he really wants the Congress to come back to power after the 2023 election, he should sacrifice his personal ambitions to become the Chief Minister of the state and work for the party wholeheartedly. Even when media people asked him if he is going to contest the next election, he should stop responding that it is up to the Party because this gives a wrong signal to his adversaries. The reason is also because politics they say is the art of the possible, and by giving an open-ended answer, he leaves ample space for his adversaries to doubt his sincerity. And by reiterating his stand on this issue he could win over his opponents to his side. By doing so, the President will kill two birds with one stone and the most important message from this statement is that it will invigorate the party cadres in the entire state and the second and the most important thing that will happen from this statement is that Dr Mukul Sangma will stay put and remain in the party.
Undisputed leader of the Garo hills
After the famous haircut visit to Kolkata, political pundits are of the opinion that Dr Mukul Sangma’s two feet are in two different places now. And to say more than that is to state the obvious. The question that needs to be asked is what will he gain and lose if he decides to move both his feet to one or the either side of the divide? After the demise of Purno A Sangma, Dr Sangma automatically became the undisputed leader of the Garo hills region and he remains so till date. The truth is Dr Sangma will be in the race for the honours only if he remains with the Grand Old Party (GOP). The Party should also understand that if Dr Mukul is assured of the post of the leader of the Congress Party in the House, there is no reason for him to switch sides. And if in spite of that he still decides to switch sides then it only prove that he is over-ambitious.
On the other hand, if Dr Sangma decides to abandon ship and move to a new party, he will be a leader of a smaller party. This will be both good and bad for his future as a leader in the state. It will be good because in a coalition politics small is not only beautiful but it is convenient too.
In such a scenario assuming Dr Sangma will retain all the four seats that his family is holding now, and assuming that a few Congress legislators follow him, that will bring the tally of the new party to six or seven. Considering the big Bengali population in both Laban and Pynthor Umkhrah, and his party is able to snatch these seats from the BJP, then the new party might win eight to nine seats at the most. He will still be a kingmaker but not a king anymore as he will leave his dominion over the Garo hills region to his opponents. But if he if remains in the Congress and the party becomes united, he retains his position and more importantly will give the NPP and its MDA partners a run for their money. The MDA partners knows that they will face an uphill task in the next election if the Congress is united.
Dr Sangma has a big decision to make in the next few months and the decision will be crucial for him as a leader. It will either help him retain his stronghold over the state or make him just another player or a king maker in the eventuality of a coalition government. There is going to be a vast difference between the Dr Mukul Sangma in a new dispensation and a Mukul Sangma in the GOP. The real shrewd leader knows what move he will take.
Congress still a force to reckon with
The NPP or its partners cannot just wish the Congress away. The Party still has influence in many constituencies of the state and the Congress leaders too know this very well, but the only thing needed now is to make a smart move. Enough of blame game because people know that the Congress is also using money power during the elections. It is only that the MDA partners have more money than the Congress this time around. As the saying goes, a thief knows that the other is also a thief because they have indulged in the same business. The only problem is this time the other party got lucky while the other unfortunately did not succeed. If money is still going to be the criteria for winning the election, then the only alternative for Congress is to either ensure that they have more money than the MDA partner before the next election or to change the game.
The defeat this time is an opportunity for the Party, only if leaders learn from the mistakes and start working on the weaknesses and the challenges that the Party faced in the last election. Time unfortunately is not on the Congress party’s side; only fourteen months is left till the next election. The Congress is the oldest national party in the state and this is its strength and opportunity. While the MDA partners are basking in their victory, the Congress should start working. Pala should stop wasting his time in trying to woo back the Party’s old guards, but instead build the party bases in the entire state. Only if Pala and Dr Sangma can work together, will the Congress be a force to reckon with in the ensuing elections. Otherwise, the Congress is doomed.
Email: [email protected]