Meghalaya elections: Anti-incumbency, factionalism put NPP on a sticky wicket

TURA, Jan 7: The odds are apparently stacked against the NPP, which appears to be on a sticky wicket going by the anti-incumbency, factionalism within the party and difficulties in managing coalition partners.
These factors must be weighing on the mind of party bosses despite the good track record of the NPP, which has been in the forefront of politics in Meghalaya for the past five years.
The party mandarins are taking heart in the fact that it did exceptionally well in both the Garo Hills and the Khasi-Jaintia Hills equally during the 2018 elections.
The NPP’s success, which surprised many, came amidst a wave of popular support. The victory came much to the surprise of the then Mukul Sangma-led Congress government.
Going by the growing dissent against party leadership and several other factors, it may not be a cakewalk for the NPP, which is struggling to keep its flock together. The ever-changing equation appears to be tilting towards the opposition parties.
An aggressive campaign by TMC and other political adversaries has set the tone for a riveting political battle.
Prior to the 2018 elections, the NPP, which fought alone, had the backing of the BJP. The tacit understanding 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 total 59 seats. The number rose to 20 after election to the Williamnagar seat, which was delayed due to the murder of one of candidates.
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 every other party than the Congress. The Congress, by the time, had been politically out-maneuvered by the BJP that stitched a multi-party coalition leaving the grand old party high and dry.
However, the bonhomie that existed among the coalition partners 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 at the Assembly in 2023.
According to observers, the NPP can have a herculean task in defending its crown. The allegations of corruption and failure to counter them can be party’s Achilles heels.
The ruling party is struggling to contain a number of aspirants, who were denied tickets. The dissidents are coming out in the open with criticism of party policy. Anxiety grows among the party leaders as disgruntled party members could mar things if they are not pacified in the right time.
“Any party that rules the state is bound to be impacted by anti-incumbency. The NPP could not micromanage things and its failure to communicate with other party men only allowed others, including their own coalition partners, to project the government as corrupt. The party has clearly failed to counter allegations,” says AM Marak, a Tura resident.
The party, however, applied all means to woo senior leaders from other parties to brighten its chances. In Garo Hills, at least two TMC MLAs, Marthon J Sangma and Jimmy D Sangma are likely to join the party, sources said.
Another major gain for the party has been in the form of former Meghalaya Speaker, AT Mondal, who has joined the party on December 22, and will be the front-runner for the Phulbari seat. Mondal is likely to face tough fight from SG Esmatur Mominin who is expected to fight the elections on a TMC ticket.
Despite adversities, not all are convinced about allegations of corruptions against the NPP. “There is no way you can write off the NPP over whatever allegations of corruption are being brought against it,” says another resident. 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.
“We will emerge as the largest party after the coming election. There is overwhelming support for the party in Khasi Hills as well as in Garo Hills. We’re optimistic about forming the next government,” an NPP party leader from Mendipathar said.