TURA, Nov 20: Elections in Meghalaya have always been a staid affair. For decades candidates across the state have continued making small meetings, reaching out to people in various colonies with the odd large meeting that included their supporters from the same place where the meetings were held. This held true for all candidates, be they from regional or national parties.
What is noticeable this time around though is the changing landscape that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has brought to politics in the state.
“The number of people present in the meeting on Friday, Nov 18, was unbelievable. 25,000 people for a party meeting and that too three months prior to the election! This is unheard of in our state. If this is the number coming for a meeting in which the TMC general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee was present, we shudder to think what the numbers will be when Mamata Banerjee comes,” said a resident of Tura, AM Marak.
For the TMC and the team behind the build-up, I-PAC, the Friday’s programme was a challenge that it had to meet to ensure the party’s presence in the state was felt. It did itself no harm through what it presented during the visit of Abhishek as the setup at the Tura Law College field was visually stunning.
This was acknowledged even by the TMC general secretary who felt that the huge crowds present at the site would give its rivals from all parties sleepless nights. While the parties that were meant to be given a message may not really be in panic mode yet, the fact is that everyone in the state has now taken notice. The first salvo has been fired and may be an act hard to match for others.
Banerjee further promised those present at the meeting that the party leadership and its support base would do everything to ensure that people understood their vision and helped them get the mandate.
The intensity from the party and its leaders too is something that stood out. Leading up to Friday’s major event, Leader of the Opposition, Mukul Sangma, held a meeting on Tuesday in New Bhaitbari where he addressed a crowd of over 7-8 thousand. Again, on Wednesday, he addressed another crowd in the village of Rondupara where at least 3,000 people were present. The next day Abhishek Banerjee inaugurated the party offices at Tura where Mukul was present and sat on the dais for Friday’s programme.
Earlier, seriousness in campaigning for elections only began after parties announced their list of candidates. This would generally take place 1-2 months before the elections. After the announcement, candidates would make regular visits to their areas to seek votes for themselves.
This, however, was still not the serious stuff. The serious stuff only came after the filing of nominations of candidates. Once the formalities were tied up, the rush would begin for the parties and candidates with big party meetings on a daily basis becoming the norm until the election was done and dusted.
Leaders of major political parties would then go into hyper-drive with 3-4 mass campaigns on a daily basis to appeal to voters. In short, serious campaigning only lasted about a month, barring the plain belts where even a small meeting would see thousands in attendance even six months prior to the election.
“Big meetings in the plain belts of Garo Hills would likely see 3,000-5,000 people attending. In the hills, however, these numbers would be down to about 1,000 to 2,000. People never really gathered in such huge numbers to listen to leaders and candidates explain why their party needed to be given the popular vote. Now meetings arranged by the TMC seem to get 6,000-8,000 people even if this is about 6 months prior to elections,” felt a resident of Phulbari, SR Sangma.
Unlike other states in the country, elections in Meghalaya have always been subdued. There is very little noise during campaigns and the language is always decent. Huddles by a fireplace with the campaigner explaining their point is common in lead-up to the election. But this time around the decibel has increased.
“Earlier we hardly noticed the advent of elections until voting day. Now although we are still 3 months away to the polls everyone is agog with discussions on politics and chances of candidates.
Some are even pitting their candidates against the others and trying to gain the upper hand. This was hardly ever heard of earlier and battle lines are clearly drawn,” added another resident of Tura.
The TMC, in the meanwhile, has been going about in a business-like manner in ensuring that its presence is felt. Their flags currently flutter across the entire state, while other parties are yet to place orders for flags and placards.
While rallies for political parties are definitely bread and butter, the intensity of such rallies also seems to have changed over the last 10 months. Over the past year, since the Mukul Sangma-led team broke away from the Congress to join the AITC, the new party has operated in a crisp and efficient manner.
Prashant Kishore’s I-PAC has not only been working to ensure that the ideology of the TMC spreads across the hoi-polloi and the symbol of the party is known to every voter but they have also not let up on the frequency of rallies being organised.
While the team took its time to create hype for TMC in the state, once the ball rolled, it only picked up speed. It has now become a common sight for even nondescript meetings of the party to feature some of their top leaders as well as MLAs and this is through the entire time that the AITC became the Opposition.
The continued efforts and presence of crowds in their meetings has given the aspirants a sense of confidence, something that they believe will bode well for them in the months leading to the election and that it can be a game changer.
Meanwhile, other parties, especially those currently part of the present government, have been continuing their daily activities of running the government. Political meetings for now will have to wait until the government itself is dissolved after which active campaigning will gain traction.
“This is bound to happen every time as the Opposition always has the advantage of timing their build up. However, the TMC has wisely used this buffer time to spread the TMC message and the party’s presence. While things may not have changed much, the party has given a glimpse of the intensity of the campaign as Election Day nears. Even if they don’t win and become a part of the government, it will definitely not be for lack of effort,” said a Tura resident on condition of anonymity.
