In recent times the Meghalaya Congress has been floating speculations that some of its former senior members who had earlier deserted the Party and joined the Trinamool Congress would rejoin the Party. This comes after the Congress Party has been on an induction spree with several new members from different districts of East Khasi Hills joining the Party recently. Both Dr Mukul Sangma and Charles Pyngrope have denied any move to return to the Congress. But what defies logic are the statements of the Deputy CEM, Khasi Hills District Council, PN Syiem stating that people at the grassroots are asking that the Congress should decouple itself from the NPP in the Khasi Hills District Council. This statement coming as it does on the eve of the District Council elections is facile and intended to deceive. The Congress Party has been working in an easy coalition for the past year and more with the NPP in the KHADC without demur and now it’s trying to hoodwink voters into believing that the coalition was forced upon it. Fact is that every Party wants to be on the ruling side and since the anti-defection law does not operate in the Autonomous District Councils, making unholy alliances is an old story and no amount of explaining away the old habit of allying with the party in power is going to convince anyone, especially the urban voters. Attempts to bring in the Anti-defection Act into the Councils proved futile as the Supreme Court struck down the Act stating that any such law to be enforced in Sixth Schedule areas has to be mandated by Parliament.
In Meghalaya it is common for parties that shared power for a full five term in the State Government or the Autonomous District Councils to go to the people during elections and beguile them by saying that they supported the ruling party only to provide stable governance or for development. The electorate knows this is a lie. Politics has always been a quest for power and never about principles in Meghalaya. The Congress after having eaten off the same plate as the NPP and shared the spoils of office for as long as it was profitable for them is now trying to whitewash its sins and appear as if it had nothing to do with the ills of governance in the KHADC.
Health Minister and NPP MLA, Ampareen Lyngdoh has aptly stated that every party would need the NPP to form the Executive Committee in the 3 ADCs. While the VPP with its promise of clean governance has captured the imagination of the voters and is likely to swing the ADC elections in its favour, there is a possibility that it may not get an absolute majority in the two ADCs in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills region. In the Garo Hills the NPP might still win more seats than the Congress and the TMC. Hence a coalition with the NPP cannot be ruled out. Until such time it is better for District Councillors and the Congress Party honchos to hold their tongues as they may be forced to eat humble pie. Who knows, the Congress might even have to align with the VPP to form the Executive Council in the 2 ADCs.
