Politics is a strange game where politicians claim allegiance to a political party only as long as it serves their interests. When the party is in the doghouse, attrition begins. Across the country the BJP has been wooing disgruntled Congressmen, TMC MPs and anyone who desires to leave the sinking ship. Meghalaya is no better. Loyalty and politics are incompatible. While some Congressmen have resigned recently, they are yet to join the BJP. Perhaps they are biding their time. The latest to join the BJP is Mohendro Rapsang who earlier won the West Shillong seat in 2018 representing the Congress Party. Before the 2023 assembly elections Rapsang joined the National People’s Party (NPP) and contested the assembly elections from that party but lost his seat to Paul Lyngdoh of the United Democratic Party (UDP). Now Rapsang has joined the BJP. What does this reveal about politics and politicians in Meghalaya? That there is no such thing as political ideology here. Each politician calculates their own political future and joins the bandwagon controlling the purse strings in Delhi.
Politicians feel the pressure of being in the Opposition because they claim the ruling party in the state does not pay attention to the welfare of constituents represented by an Opposition MLA. This is visible in constituencies represented by VPP MLAs such as Mawryngkneng, Mawlai, Nongkrem and North Shillong. Naturally aspiring candidates and those without ideology make hay while the sun shines and jump ship with ease. How they convince voters is something that deserves a research paper. Rumours are circulating that the BJP is very keen to run a government on its own in one of the tribal and Christian-majority states, and that Meghalaya is their target. It will not be surprising if senior members of the TMC, NPP, UDP and VPP too join the BJP. After all, their contention is that they contest elections to serve the public and the only way to do so is to be in the ruling party. Speculations are rife about the political future of Paul Lyngdoh who was affronted when his ministerial career was nipped in the bud by the UDP President, Metbah Lyngdoh, at a time when his performance as Tourism Minister was at its peak. Paul Lyngdoh was replaced by Timothy Shira of the NPP. This is what happens in a coalition government. Ministers are not judged by their performance or rewarded for doing well. They are victims of realpolitik which in a coalition government means juggling portfolios so that every MLA in the ruling party gets a chance to become a minister. Meghalaya has experienced this for over 50 years and nothing has changed.
The BJP’s cup of woes will run over too very soon when it finds itself being wooed by all manner of wannabe MLAs as 2028 draws closer. It would no longer need to woo people to join the party. They will be knocking at the party’s door. West Bengal was the last bastion in the east that the BJP was eyeing. Now that West Bengal is conquered the North Eastern states should not be too challenging to conquer. Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh are BJP-ruled states. Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram are already allies, meaning they have no ideological differences. The regional parties are mere fig leaves that the BJP storm will soon blow away.
