TURA, March 26: The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) Meghalaya chapter started with an absolute bang in the state, but of late, the situation of the party seems to be that of a hardly audible whimper. With general elections not even a year away, the question now being raised is whether the AITC inaction will allow the NPP another shot at government making in the coming year.
The initial start to the AITC in Meghalaya was frenetic with the leader of the Opposition switching over from the Congress along with 11 other legislators. Those that were a part of the exodus included Charles Pyngrope, George Lyngdoh, Marthon Sangma, Zenith Sangma among others with only five Congress MLAs remaining with the Congress.
The sudden movement had created a sensation with non-stop meetings by the newly-inducted AITC leaders taking place on a regular basis. Now, after the initial hullabaloo, things have suddenly gone quiet in the Trinamool camp, with hardly any thing of note coming from the mouths of the party leaders.
The ground-level organisational development too has remained lax, though AITC party men insisted that the organisation was working at the grassroots to pull people into their fold.
The situation further led to the Congress MDCs too resigning to join the AITC in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) with the recent upheaval in the Council almost leading to it being taken over by them and their allies.
It was only last-minute tugs and pulls that allowed the GHADC to remain with the NPP, with long-time supporter and ground worker of Mukul Sangma, Boldamgre MDC Stevie Marak switching camps to NPP.
Most people believe that the AITC has cut mainly into the Congress vote bank as well as its leadership which in turn may harm the Congress as well as the AITC but leave the NPP without much scarring. This is something that the NPP election pundits are also hoping will happen.
“There is a sense that the AITC is not doing much to project itself as an alternative to the NPP or the Congress in the state.
This has led to a lot of frustration although that may disappear once everyone takes the field again, which hopefully will be soon,” said an AITC MLA from Garo Hills on the condition of anonymity.
Issues of corruption, financial mismanagement, teacher salaries, central projects going awry as well as an overall sense of financial depredation within the state should have been the pillars of the attack of the AITC against the incumbent government. However, the silence of the party to make statements seeking accountability to such activities has become deafening.
Frustration within the AITC ranks is already apparent and if the central leadership in the state lets things meander as it is, other parties, including the NPP, Congress, BJP, UDP will definitely welcome many, if not all of those that joined the AITC.
“We began with a bang and continued the momentum for some time but the recent lull of party building activities is making us question whether the decision to leave the Congress is the right one. We want more proactive measures in party building to be taken just to bring in the feeling that we are looking at ourselves seriously as an alternative,” said another high-level party worker, who once again requested anonymity.
The AITC in Meghalaya is being supported by Prashant Kishore-led I-PAC team. They have been doing rounds of the entire state to understand and feel the flow of the people.
However I-PAC too has been silent in building momentum for the AITC in the state – a sign that all may not be right in the relation between them and the Mamata Banerjee-led party. Whether this will impact any grand designs that the AITC has in its strategy in the coming days, remains to be seen.
However, one thing that no one will take lightly is the impact of Mukul Sangma. The veteran leader always keeps his strategies very close to himself and is something that the opposition to the AITC will fear.
“He understands where the party stands and how they need to go about it. This silence could just be the false sense of failings within the AITC. However one cannot underestimate Mukul Sangma or his understanding of state politics. Before long we will definitely see fireworks coming from the AITC front in the state,” added a former legislator from the AITC, again on the condition of anonymity.