PURSUING its crusade for clean elections the Voice of People Party (VPP) launched its campaign for the Bye-election to the Shillong Lok Sabha seat at Sohra where people freely donated money towards the campaign. Whether this is done for photo-ops or if the VPP really upholds the ethics of asking for votes without succumbing to the pressure of appeasing voters with money remains to be seen. If the VPP can truly infuse in voters the spirit of electing a person who stands for certain values in public life, then it would have succeeded where the rest of the country hasn’t. In India today the ruling political party – the BJP—succeeds in winning elections partly because it is seen as the party that will deliver the Hindus from the Muslims and rides on the slogan of “Hindu Khatre mein hai” (Hindus are in danger). This fear is so deeply embedded in the psyche of the average Hindu that arguing with them is pointless. They believe the Congress Party had for decades allowed a free flow of illegal immigrants first from East Pakistan and later Bangladesh. What they fail to see is that a substantial number of migrants are also Hindus by faith and are fleeing from regimes that persecuted Hindus. But in politics there is no place for reason. Emotions drive the voter to vote for a certain political party or person.
The role of emotions in politics is well researched. In the 2023 elections the VPP came up with a song that resonated with a large section of voters. People see the Government’s lapses; its inability to provide basic necessities such as water, electricity and roads in large swathes of rural Meghalaya. These continue to be issues of great concern. Then there’s unemployment despite the Government coming up with a plethora of schemes. All these formed the lyrics of the VPP song, “Ha U Prah.” The point is that the Government alone cannot be the job creator. But credit must be given where due. The MDA Government has tried to empower farmers through various schemes that assist with packaging, branding and marketing niche products such as the Lakadong turmeric and other spices besides helping the farmers to find markets for their oranges and pineapples. Meghalaya has also made great strides in the Eri silk industry. People hopefully see these aspects too but Opposition Parties will always have their own narratives. The bandwagon on which the VPP rides is ‘corruption’ and the downslide in education. In fact, the Party has threatened to storm the Secretariat without notice. The public wonders what the VPP has up its sleeve. But elections demand a lot of posturing.
As far as the Lok Sabha Bye-election is concerned the VPP is expected to retain its loyal voters and also gain from sympathy votes since (Late) Dr Ricky AJ Syngkon was an MP who struck a chord with voters and who they genuinely trusted. He visited homes in rural Meghalaya and was pained by the poverty he saw on such visits. The VPP has put up Dr Batskhem Myrboh a teacher in NEHU’s Political Science Department as their candidate. Myrboh is pitted against another academician and until recently the President of the Khasi Author’s Society – Dr DRL Nonglait. Then there’s the UDP candidate a veteran lawyer VGK Kynta and Vincent Pala of the Congress. It remains to be seen whether people will still vote for the VPP and its clean election agenda.
