The Meghalaya Congress is in slumber most times. With all the MLAs having deserted the sinking ship and joining the ruling party cohort its voice in the Assembly is muted. It has never happened in the past that the Congress has been reduced to a cipher in Meghalaya. This should have pushed the remaining members to do a soul searching and branch out to the different corners of Meghalaya to revive the Primary Units and Blocks but there is complete silence on this score. The Congress now appears to have a presence only in Shillong city and in the Garo Hills. Hence when the Meghalaya Pradesh Chief, Vincent Pala starts accusing the NPP and BJP of starting the Garo Hills fire that led to violence and arson, it sounds banal. BJP leader from Garo Hills, Bernard Marak has rightly castigated Pala for blaming his Party and the NPP for what happened in Garo Hills. The violence started on March 9 when former Phulbari legislator Esmatur Mominin was allegedly assaulted by protesters when he reached the deputy commissioner’s office in Tura to file his nomination for the GHADC polls scheduled for April 10. That two people died in police firing on that fateful day is an agonising matter.
In a state and country where political affiliations are fluid and there are no permanent friends or foes in politics, Mominin too began his political career with the Congress because at the time that was the opportunistic thing to do. Later he shifted to the NPP from where he contested the Assembly elections in 2018 and won. Ahead of the 2023 elections Mominin shifted to the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) but lost his seat. The only party that Mominim has not joined is the BJP. Other than that, he has flirted with all parties and remained loyal to none. No wonder the leaders of different political parties are filing cases against him for creating violence.This sort of party-switching is not unusual in Meghalaya politics, especially in regions like Garo Hills where local alliances and leadership dynamics often shape political decisions more than rigid party loyalty. In the present context Mominin was going to file his nomination to the GHADC as an Independent candidate. Tempers were already high in Garo Hills on the right of non-tribals to contest and also vote in the District Council Elections. The rapid change in the demographic profile of Garo Hills has caused consternation and such fears tend to flare up before elections. Going with the flow, political parties of all shades too are against non-tribals participating in the Council elections. Hence Vincent Pala’s allegations that the NPP and BJP had tried to foment the violence and prevented Mominin from filing his nomination papers to the GHADC is far-fetched.
For the Congress now is the time to rejuvenate its laid-back cadres. The Bye-election to the Shillong Lok Sabha seat will be happening shortly following the untimely demise of Dr Ricky AJ Syngkon and the Party has to toil to get some MDCs elected at least to the GHADC. Now is not the time for trading charges. Rather it’s time to gear up for two elections. In Garo Hills, fortunately Saleng Sangma is a force to contend with. He commands a sizable following. The same cannot be said of Khasi-Jaintia Hills. It’s time for young leadership to take the reins of the Congress Party and take it forward.
