Tura, Jan 7: The National People’s Party (NPP) has been in the forefront of politics in the state of Meghalaya since the past 5 years with the party doing exceptionally well in the 2018 elections in both the Garo Hills and the Khasi – Jaintia Hills regions in equal measure. Its success, while surprising to many, came amidst a wave of popular support that came at the exception of the then Mukul Sangma led Congress government.
However, this time, the situation looks a lot different for the Conrad Sangma led party with internal party rebels and anti- incumbency as well as a prickly partnership with its allies and could become a gargantuan task for it to emerge at the single largest party and continue calling the shots in the post-election coalition formation.
The pitch appears to have queered by the strident waves of aggressive campaign by TMC and other political adversaries.
Prior to the 2018 elections, the NPP despite the fact that it fought alone still had the backing of the BJP. This unwritten partnership helped it gain some crucial votes in some very closely fought contests. It emerged the second largest party in the state with 19 seats, just two behind the Congress out of the 59 seats contested. The number rose to 20 after election to the Williamnagar seat, which was delayed due to one of the candidates being murdered by the GNLA, being won by the NPP.
Following the election, Conrad Sangma, who was then the MP of the Tura seat, was made the leader of the ruling coalition that consisted of everyone else other than the Congress. The Congress, by this time, had been politically out-manoeuvred by BJP having stitched a multi-party coalition leaving the grand old party high and dry.
However, the bonhomie that existed among the coalition partners while during the past five years seems to have dissipated with the BJP itself now looking to make a bigger impact in terms of numbers of legislators it sends to the Assembly in 2023.
Observers say that NPP will have a herculean task in fighting anti-incumbency. The whispers of corruption in high places are getting louder by the day. Unless NPP can counter them effectively it may turn out to be the party’s Achilles heels. Will that eventually push the NPP out of its pole position is an enigmatic question to answer.
The party has grown in strength in the state to such an extent that it can easily put up candidates that have a chance to win in all the 60 constituencies in the state. While that may be a boon in many ways, it actually turns a curse in many aspects. With their increase in influence, the party will now have to face challenges from those that it denies tickets to contest. With election not being an exact science in the least, these disgruntled members could make a huge difference in whether the party comes out in front or paves the way for its rivals.
“Any party that rules the state is bound to be impacted by anti-incumbency. The NPP has not helped itself in a way by allowing others, including their own coalition partners, to paint them as being corrupt. It has not helped that the party has remained silent in the face of such allegations,” felt a resident of Tura, AM Marak.
There is however some really good positives for the party in the run up to the polls. Firstly it has been able to attract quite a few senior leaders from across parties into its fold most of who are expected to do well in the coming elections. In Garo Hills, at least 2 AITC MLAs, Marthon J Sangma and Jimmy D Sangma have either joined the NPP or are most likely to do so in the coming days. Another major gain for the party has been in the form of former Meghalaya Speaker, AT Mondal.
Mondal joined the party in Dec, 22 and will be the front-runner for the Phulbari seat. Interestingly he replaces the current NPP MLA, who has been denied a ticket from the party, SG Esmatur Mominin. Mominin is expected to fight the elections on a AITC ticket in what is looking to be a very close contest for the seat.
Earlier, it was seen that other parties waited on the Congress before announcing their list of candidates as those rejected by the party became first choice in other parties. With the Congress on the wane, this time the mantle has been handed over to the NPP with all eyes on it before others take a leap.
Another USP of the NPP led government which is expected to help the party gather momentum in the coming days is the inauguration of the many C&RD Blocks and Civil Sub Divisions in the state. These are expected to help bring the people of the area closer to the administration and something the party can harp on to convince voters to give them another shot.
What is interesting is the fact that the inauguration spree has led to there being two civil subdivisions in just one constituency – Dadenggre. It now possesses the old Dadenggre Civil Subdivision and will also have the Jengjal chapter.
“There is no way you can write off the NPP over whatever allegations of corruption are being made against it. In most parts of the state, people vote for the person they feel will lead them forward and if there is a feeling that the party that the leader represents may have a shot at being part of the ruling government, it just becomes an added bonus,” felt another resident.
Recently the NPP has been in an overdrive in terms of projecting what positives the party has brought for the people of the state. These include the 9500 capacity PA Sangma Stadium in Tura, the various Blocks and subdivisions as well as the release of money to beneficiaries under the various programmes (FOCUS, FOCUS+). The visibility that had been missing seems to have been bridged for now in the face of an aggressive AITC campaign.
However, it’s sometimes hot and sometimes cold relationship with the BJP was brought to the forefront when the party accused it of hijacking central schemes to project as coming from the state with FOCUS and FOCUS+ being the main prickle.
The coming election is going to be one of the closest in terms of numbers despite the results of 2018. In 2018, the difference in winning margins was less than 1000 in 19 of the 59 seats contested. However, going by the situation and low voter numbers, this time the scene could get closer. It may just depend on how many fringe voters each party can bring to its fold, that decides what narrative plays out.
“We are extremely positive of being the largest party after the next election. There has been tremendous support for the party in Khasi Hills as well as in Garo Hills and these will definitely translate into votes. We will lead the next government as well,” felt a NPP party leader from Mendipathar on the condition of anonymity.
The same feeling has been expressed by most of the other leaders from the region though the real test will begin once campaigning begins in full swing, possibly in the next two weeks.