By HH Mohrmen
The ensuing election to the Lok Sabha has changed the political landscape in the state, at least in the way the different parties’ are campaigning for their respective candidates. But what do we mean by changing the political landscape? Here, changing political landscape refers to the shifting dynamics, trends, and conditions within the realm of politics, especially concerning the election to the Lok Sabha. In general, the campaigns organized by the different parties indicate that the political landscape in Meghalaya, or at least in the Khasi Jaintia region, is in a state of flux or transformation.
Educated Candidates
Regarding the education of the candidates, we could not ask for a better list than the one we have now. The line-up we have in the election for the Shillong Parliamentary seat consists of three candidates holding doctorate degrees, with one holding dual masters. The other two candidates at least have university degrees; one has an engineering degree, and the other has a law degree. So, in terms of the education of the candidates, the voters are spoilt for choice. This time around, the wish of many voters to have candidates who are educated is fulfilled, and there is no room for complaints anymore. This is a very promising trend indeed, which hopefully will trickle down to the legislative assembly and the autonomous district councils too. It starts from the top; so hopefully, educated candidates will henceforth contest elections to the State Legislative Assembly and the Autonomous District Council.
The Changing Campaign Scenario
While the old parties in the state still spend money making and decorating their campaign pandals and hiring costly sound systems, this time around, voters saw the emerging new trend in the way the new party campaigns for their candidates. The new kid on the political block of the state campaigns to fight against corruption using bare necessities. In every VPP campaign, one would only see one table, a few chairs, and a simple public announcement system, and that’s about it. No pandal, no decorations, no expensive sound system; at times, one could rarely even see the party’s flags during their campaign. At most, the party would spend fifty thousand per campaign, and this is another trend that gives the voters hope for a better tomorrow because other parties spend lakhs of rupees just to make pandals and decorate the campaign ground.
Is BJP’s withdrawal from the race an advantage to NPP?
It is both yes and no. Yes, because the NPP will be able to consolidate its presence in the urban areas where there is a non-indigenous population, and on the other hand, it will be to the Congress’s disadvantage. But the NPP is also likely to lose a huge section of voters who hate the BJP and blame it for its anti-minority approach. It depends on the size of the population that decides to vote against the party, not for the party’s own doing but for the support that it received from the BJP as the NDA partner.
Corruption is No Longer the New Normal
In the state where politicians are getting rich instantly and voters do not ask how the candidates earn their money; in a state where politicians consider it their god-given right to be rich, and the public seldom ask how they can earn so much money when their known sources of income are limited, corruption becomes an accepted norm. For so long, corruption has become the new normal in the state, and it is normal for politicians and their coterie to become rich instantly. Buying houses and property left, right, and center almost every year and having in their collection all expensive cars available in the market, is accepted by the public as normal, and the politicians even boast about it.
Corruption in the state is considered normal because everyone who is in the helm of power is doing it with pride, thereby making it the new normal. There is a video still circulating on different social media platforms where one of the Deputy Chief Ministers said in the campaign last year that it was the public who compelled them to become corrupt. He said the voters ask them for money so where will they get the money from if they do not indulge in corruption. This is the same politician who with pride on his face last year said in public, “ngi pynbieit man ka san snem, ki bieit ruh man ka san snem,” and now he has changed his mind. In one of the meetings where he campaigned for the Party candidate, he asked the Opposition to prove, where and when did he indulge in corruption and if they can prove that he was corrupt?
That is a good question, but the internet and social media have helped the public to become smarter because clips of their recorded speech can be shared numerous times. Another Deputy Chief Minister in one of the campaigns asked, “If we are indulging in corruption then why people continue to vote for us?” This of course is a very valid point. But what he did not state upfront and the public did not ask is – How much money the NPP spent to win the last election. The public statements made by the two politicians during the campaign trail revealed that they have changed their minds; obviously, it is no longer cool to openly or ingeniously say it is normal to be corrupt. If it can at least make them change their stands, it shows that in the big war against corruption, the anti-corruption campaign has already won a small battle.
Calling a Spade a Spade
A few days back, one of the Deputy Chief Ministers also said that it is obvious that the leader of the VPP has this ‘holier than thou attitude.’ In his call to fight against corruption, he did not shy away from the truth and mentioned that in the last election, there were reports that leaders of the churches were also involved in unfair practices during the election. Taking advantage of this, those opposing the rise of the VPP condemned Ardent for his statement, which they alleged tarnished the image of the church. They blamed him for his holier than thou attitude, hoping to gain the sympathy of the church elders. It is an open secret that some leaders, which include church and community leaders, used to take full advantage of the elections and make use of the situation for their own selfish interests. It remains to be seen if the statement he made will backfire and have an adverse impact on the prospects of the party candidate or if the public knows best and votes according to the dictates of their conscience. Will the public reward or punish the VPP for daring to call a spade a spade is what the people will have to wait and see.
The Organized versus the Unorganized Party
The debate that is ongoing is whether this election is going to see a triangular fight, with one side being the conglomeration of the regional parties led by the UDP, the Congress, and the NPP. The argument is that these parties are organized and already have their units and the party rank and file right up to the polling station level. This is considered to be the advantage that these existing parties have over the new entrants to the political landscape in the state, the Voice of the People Party (VPP). The VPP has only four MLAs and is not organized and does not have its presence anywhere in the state except in a few constituencies; it is estimated that the party will find it very difficult to perform well. The VPP is considered to be the underdog in this election, and it is true that unlike the good old parties like the UDP, the HSPDP, the NPP, and the Congress, the new party has no presence in most of the 36 legislative constituencies under the Shillong parliamentary constituency.
It is also true that if this calculation is taken into consideration, it is hope against hope for the VPP to even dream of winning the election. The hope for the VPP is only if there is a change in the way the people vote – when people do not depend on the leaders of the parties or when the units and the different groups in the party do not have influence in the way people vote. The chance of the VPP winning the election is only if the hoi-polloi decide to ignore the leaders of the political parties and vote without fear of threats and intimidation. If that happens, then it indicates that there is a change in the voting behaviour of the people – the common person on the street.