By H H Mohrmen
The recent political developments in the state are surprising though not unexpected. The question to ponder upon is : how can the same people who blamed their twelve former colleagues for deserting the party would themselves do the same just two months later. The decision of the last five Congress MLAs to support the MDA government is an illustration of how low politicians can stoop in order to achieve their hidden interest. Earlier the same MLA blamed their former colleague for their merger with the AITMC, but in just a few months their own allegiance to the same party is uncertain. It is now obvious that the politicians’ allegiance to any party is not because of the ideology that the party has but it is for their own interest and expediency.
A Marriage of
Convenience
The decision of the remaining Congress MLA in the state Assembly to support the NPP-led MDA government is nothing but greed and fear of losing the elections in 2023. But what change can they bring to their constituents in 12 or 11 months time which they could not do in the last four years? The most pertinent question is whether the MLA has to be in power to be able to best serve their constituents? It is obvious that they don’t have any principles and they are all there for power and money. Of course for the NPP the more the merrier and they don’t have any obligation towards the Congress MLAs since the latter had themselves offered to support the government. Conrad Sangma has no responsibility towards the legislators because it is not even an alliance. But wise readers of this paper would be able to easily decipher what this move means. It would be wrong to conclude that this is not an indication of something big to happen before the 2023 election.
The Congress MLAs’
next move
It is not rocket science to see which direction the wind is blowing. The MLAs have not only made the move without the consent and the knowledge of the party high command, but they had even dared the MPCC or the AICC to punish them for their decision to support the NPP-led government. This is a clear indication of the steps that the five MLAs will take before the 2023 election. It is obvious that the MLAs are going to leave the Congress party for good and they are only waiting for the appropriate time to make their final move.
Of the two stalwarts that still remain for all intents and purposes with the Congress party, the move of the lady representative is already obvious. In politics there are times when the cart moves before the bullock, so when the husband of the MLA who is also an MDC has shifted allegiance to another party, it is not difficult to read what the next move of the MLA will be.
In the case of the Mawlai MLA, considering the impact that the last year’s incident had on the area, going back to the regional party will be a wise move. But the problem is that there are many regional parties in the state and he is spoilt for choice. Also since the Minister in charge of the Home Department is an MLA of the major regional party in the state, maybe contesting from the party ticket will not be conducive for the incumbent MLA.
The ship and its captain
What about the Congress? Rather the appropriate question is what is left of the Congress now? When the news of the decision of the five Congress MLAs was shared, the first thing that came to mind was the Khasi poem that one learnt in school as a kid which says: “la pluh ka lieng ki nongïapom la sah satang ma u…” It was a translation of the poem Casabianca (1826) by Felicia Hemans which says “… The boy stood on the burning deck, whence all but him had fled…” The couplet of the poems says it all about the situation in which the Congress and its leader Vincent Pala is in now. Like the son in the story he is left alone and the ship is on fire.
It was what can be called as the great betrayal because while he was busy attending the budget session in Parliament, Vincent H. Pala the Shillong MP was back-stabbed by his own MLA. A former MLA who had shifted allegiance with Dr Mukul Sangma to AITMC said to me many months before he joined the new party, that the Congress in Meghalaya is so strong that only an insider can destroy it. The BJP ‘oust Congress campaign’ in Meghalaya is becoming a reality not because of what the BJP has done. Neither is it the handiwork of the NPP but it is the work of the Congress MLAs themselves. The party did not fail the people but the politicians did. It will also be interesting to watch if the voters will punish the defectors in the ensuing election.
Hopefully the Congress has learnt its lesson albeit at a very huge cost and will mend its ways. The Party does not have much time in hand and it needs to make its next move fast and very carefully. The party needs to act fast because there is exactly one year before the next general elections to the state assembly and in between the president of MPCC needs to shuffle between New Delhi and Shillong. Time is very limited for the Party to reorganize itself, therefore it needs to formulate its strategy well and make its move swiftly and carefully if the party is to still exist in the state.
The first lesson for my batchmate from school is not to cry over spilt milk. Let bygones be bygones; don’t cry for the birds that have escaped from the hand but rather concentrate on the party’s strength. The focus should be on how to win the next elections because his future also depends on the party’s performance in 2023. It is sad that in just a few months the Congress party has lost all its legislators in the Assembly just like that. More tragically the unfortunate development happened just one year before the elections to the state Assembly. The party and the president of the MPCC will have to move mountains and seas to prove that the state is still the stronghold of the Congress.
Congress is the springboard for politicians
Except for a few politicians who are diehard regionalists, it is interesting to note that most of the politicians in the state had launched their political careers in the Congress party. The Congress seems to be a very good training ground for budding politicians although most of them betray the party when it is convenient for them to do so. It is also ironic that in the political scenario of the state there is at least one Congress-turncoat in every party in the state. KHNAM is perhaps the only party that does not have a former Congress in its fold. It is also not surprising then that the party will now have to contest against its own legislators in almost all the constituencies in the next election.
Thank goodness
for the AITMC
The change in the political landscape of the state is so striking that the AITMC which did not even contest the last election is now a force to reckon with. The party which was only a few months old in the state of Meghalaya is now becoming the lone opposition party here. With AITMC becoming the only Opposition in the state, the next budget session and the summer sitting of the house will be interesting to watch.
When it is only about the politician’s interest only
The politics in the state is becoming all about self interest only. The sole goal of the MLAs is to win the elections at any cost even if it means betraying the party and the people that elected them. There is no circumstance that best illustrates this reality other than when the BJP and the Congress can be on the same boat. In the state of Meghalaya the political development in the last few months has clearly lent credence to the saying that politics is the art of the possible. In politics even arch enemies can work together.
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