NEW DELHI: After the recurring poll debacles, the Congress has slipped into political hibernation in Meghalaya despite BJP stepping up its election groundwork.
The saffron brigade, which recently held a farmers’ rally in Garo Hills, has already declared that it will win two-third of the seats in the 60-member Assembly.
BJP national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna, among others, has expressed optimism that the party will form the government in 2018.
Some party leaders said if BJP wins 40 seats, it will be historic but given the fractured politics in the State, winning even half the seats would be a tough task.
BJP’s anti-minority image and its stand on cow slaughter have not gone down well with the electorate in the State.
Also, with A.L Hek deserting the party long ago, it also does not have a chief ministerial candidate unlike the Congress or the regional parties.
But senior BJP leaders, like Khanna and Nalin Kohli, who visited the State recently, had been optimistic about forming the next government.
“For this to happen, the policies of the Centre have to reach the grassroots level,” Khanna said while addressing BJP state leaders and party workers in the city recently.
The party has already started its homework and has been holding regular meetings and awareness programmes, especially in the rural areas, to sensitise voters about the existing central schemes.
On the contrary, the ruling Congress so far has not shown the zeal.
The Congress’s central leadership has also not shown enthusiasm in starting the groundwork for next year’s elections. Senior leaders too have stayed away from the State.
Besides, internal bickering has weakened the Congress. Party sources said many MLAs will be denied ticket this time and some have already refused to contest.
The Congress is losing strength even at the lower stratum. For instance more than 80 party workers resigned on Sunday to join the UDP. More disgruntled workers and leaders may find their way to BJP.
Observers feel that going by the past trend, Conrad Sangma-led NPP and Mukul-led Congress will share the 24 seats in the Garo Hills. In the Khasi-Jaintia Hills, despite anti-incumbency some of the Congress leaders will manage to retain their seats because of their individuality and the small size of the constituencies.
The Congress can also boast of a stable government for more than five years. But ban on coal mining created a crisis for the State exchequer under the MUA-II and might affect poll results.
The regional parties, like UDP and HSPDP, are always divided. The KHADC Chairman who was suspended from the Congress will also split votes.
NPP and UDP are part of the BJP-led NDA but on the ground they fight against each other. This can work in favour of the Congress.
However, if BJP or the Congress has to form government, it has to take the help of regional parties.
The Meghalaya Assembly’s term ends in March next year. But elections can be held within six months before or after.
