The UDP, BJP, NPP who are alliance partners in the present MDA Government are all going to go it alone in the 2023 elections. This, though, is not new in Meghalaya. The UDP is not bothered who it aligns with so long as it can be in the Government. This was evident when the MDA Government was formed in 2018. During the election trail, the UDP went hammer and tongs against the BJP, calling it an anti-Christian, anti-minority party and created a fear psychosis among voters telling them to reject the BJP outright. For the electorate that did not vote the BJP, it was a bit of a shock to see the UDP, BJP and NPP sup from the same plate and continuing that marriage of convenience until the very last although the BJP has been hemming and hawing about pulling out of the government.
Power is addictive and politicians and political parties are gluttons of privilege. The prospect of being in the Opposition for five years is daunting. The desire for power also means a readiness to climb down the high horse just to cobble up a government even with a Right Wing Party whose ideologies have been critiqued and condemned prior to the elections. Such is the history of politics in Meghalaya. The State has never seen a pre-poll alliance between parties as happens elsewhere. This also reveals the character traits of a society that is highly divisive and rides high on political ego. Is it not supercilious of the UDP to say it will contest all 60 seats and that it could get a majority on its own? Not to be left behind, the BJP too has stated upfront that it would put up candidates in all 60 seats. This when the BJP hardly has a toehold in the State! However, overconfidence is no sin, so political parties can spin their delusions of grandeur until D-Day when the last vote is counted and the tally reveals the truth as it is.
The All India Trinamool Congress has not spoken much about its poll prospects. Right now the Party is unearthing all the illegalities of the MDA government and they have covered a lot of ground. Their national spokesperson evidently has a sharp legal mind and has pulled out quite a few skeletons from the MDA cupboard and even dared those in government for a public debate. The MDA Government is naturally hedging because getting into a debate with a discerning and well-armed opponent means going down a slippery slope. No government in the past has been so challenged. The TMC is actually playing the real Opposition here, where others are simply watching the MDA caravan pass by.
