From Saurav Borah
TIKRIKILLA, Feb 21: This laidback constituency in West Garo Hills has, amid decades of neglect, battled a plethora of issues, including substandard healthcare, floods, and to a lesser extent, human-animal conflict, hindering development.
Otherwise dormant, but come election, there is a buzz, like most seats, in Tikrikilla as contesting parties and candidates engage in the good old battle of one-upmanship and even mudslinging.
This time too is no different as posters, banners, party flags dot every nook and cranny of this sleepy seat. Public meetings, at times during unearthly hours, are currently breaking the monotony of five years of inactivity.
Asked about the problems, Bankim Rabha, a farmer from Hollaidanga, close to the forest area and a few kilometres away from the market, says, “Floods affect people not just in the plains belt but at times they affect villagers near the foothills as well. But more than the deluge which destroys paddy fields, we have a problem with the ‘tokenism or the trivial’ cash/item distribution by the MLAs among flood victims.”
The localities, namely Haribhanga, Jugirjhar and Khamari, within two kilometres from the river Brahmaputra, are the ones more affected by floods, Rabha says.
Tikrikilla legislative Assembly constituency has a total of 35,427 voters, including 17,601 males and 17,826 females. The seat has a sizeable number of Garo, Muslim and Hindu voters (comprising Rabha, Hajong, Koch, Barman, Bengali and Boro).
Human-elephant ‘conflict’ here is not as grave as in parts of Assam, thanks to the “friendly conduct” by villagers.
“Since there is a reserve forest and an elephant corridor here, there are issues of elephants finding their way to human habitation in search of food even as most of them are relatively harmless. However, unlike in Assam, the villagers here adhere to the gentle way of keeping them at bay. There are monkeys as well that gobble up whatever fruits that grow on the trees,” Rabha, 51, said.
“While we do not face any drinking water issues as such, the state of education and healthcare has kept the constituency backward. There is a government college and secondary school but an upgrade eludes them. Worse still, a night school is there but without teachers. Likewise, the health centre is just in name only, with no proper doctors or medicine. Critical patients have to go to places such as Goalpara and Dhubri for treatment,” the man, with frustration writ large on his face, said.
Money and muscle power are synonymous in an election in this neck of the woods, with the poor and gullible reportedly wooed with cash doles while others sway to leaders under pressure and are compelled to vote for candidates who are not their first or even second choice.
“That’s characteristic of every election here is that the poor are doled out money to vote for a particular party or candidate, while others are compelled to support candidates,” he adds.
“The legislators have been inaccessible for the past 15 years. They hardly come here. The only time they do is before an election, to seek votes. Jimmy and his brothers have done precious little in the past terms,” Rabha rues.
In the market area, Sanatan Sharma, a senior citizen who runs a hotel, expressed concern over the “threats issued by unscrupulous elements to non-tribals in regard to land patta.”
“Non-tribals here are time and again threatened that their land pattas will be cancelled. So I have informed one of the contestants this time about the problem and to ensure our protection, which he has agreed,” Sharma said, while hoping that the issues plaguing the seat will be addressed by the MLA.
On the other hand, Mithun Hajong, who has inherited a pharmacy business, said that power load-shedding and partial implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) over the past two years were issues he would like the new MLA to immediately address.
“I have two children and load shedding has affected their studies. There are villages that don’t have drinking water under JJM. Some of the internal roads need repair as well,” Hajong, 45, a resident of Kathalbari locality, said.
‘Strategic’ battle
Former chief minister Mukul Sangma is contesting Tikrikilla (apart from Songsak) from the TMC. The seasoned campaigner has, during recent poll campaigns, been firing salvos on the incumbent NPP-led MDA government over corruption, “be it the rice scam, smart meter scam, or the police vehicle scam.”
Some locals say that Mukul is contesting Tikrikilla apparently with a strategy to “keep NPP candidate and sitting MLA Jimmy D Sangma out of the contest”.
Jimmy had won from Congress last time, defeating Rahinath Barchung, who is in the fray as a BJP contestant, by a slender margin.
“This strategy by Mukul might benefit the BJP candidate. As it is, Mukul might forfeit Tikrikilla for Songsak, if he happens to win both seats. In that case, his promises and pledges here will vanish in thin air. Barchung will then benefit. As it is, the BJP candidate will get the Hindu votes which are sizeable,” said a villager.
On the other hand, former MLA Kapin Chandra Boro is contesting from the Congress, Julius T Sangma from UDP while Noor Nongrum is in the fray as an Independent candidate.