SHILLONG, March 3: Now that BJP has extended support to Conrad Sangma post haste the results, apparently to pre-empt room for slip up, the question that will await an answer is: Who of the two BJP MLAs will be representing the party in the cabinet of MDA 2.0?
Former health minister AL Hek who has been elected for the sixth time in a row, will be jostling for ministerial berth with his compatriot from South Shillong, Sanbor Shullai.
Hek has been a minister even before Shullai was elected as an MLA. Obviously, he has a longer stint and more experience. To cap it all, Hek appears to enjoy a better equation with party’s top leaders. As if to send a message, Hek had roped in union minister Jitendra Singh to walk along for filing his nomination papers.
Sanbor Shullai, who is a minister in the MDA 1.0, is relatively new in this avatar. But that doesn’t necessarily become his handicap. He barely had a year and half stint as minister to draw any comparison with Hek.
In fact, until Hek was eased out of the cabinet by Conrad Sangma, Shullai was not even in the reckoning. Shullai, in that sense, became a minister by default.
The choice before BJP is truly limited. In case the choice falls on Hek, the response of Conrad Sangma will be critical. Hek and Conrad have a fouled up personal equation. It is an open secret that the duo made overt and covert manoeuvres to outdo one another in this election. In fact, Hek was posturing as a CM candidate post election. BJP’s disappointing show this time has taken the wind out of party’s sail.
It will be interesting to see if the two estranged leaders will call it a truce and work together anew in the spirit of forget and forgive.
If that doesn’t happen and egos get the better of each other, Shullai will stand to benefit.
In any case, essentially, it will be BJP’s call but no chief minister can afford to function with any cabinet colleague whose loyalty is a suspect.
With NPP garnering a tall 26 seats against BJP’s lowly two, chances are that it will be Conrad Sangma who will have the last word on whether it is going to be an ambitious Hek or a pliable Shullai.
One thing is for sure, both the contenders will be busying themselves to pull the strings and turn the tide in their favour.
