Meghalaya Congress Chief Vincent Pala’s allegations that some Congress workers are trying to create an internal rift to remove him from the President’s post and that the post he holds is not an elected but selected one demonstrates the Congress’s dilemma. Can a political party do away with elections to the topmost post in the state? Why does the All India Congress Committee (AICC) not have enough faith in the ability of its Blocks and District heads to elect the right person to head the party at the state level? This undermines the state party workers who are better placed to elect their leader. Why does the AICC have the overriding authority to select the State Congress Chief and demean the democratic process within the Party? How can the Congress position itself as a beacon of democracy when it does not practise the same within its rank and file. The Congress in Meghalaya is reduced to a cipher and it actually needs to perk up its party workers and instil in them a sense of enthusiasm to reclaim lost spaces.
Unfortunately, it appears that the Congress never learns from past mistakes. One prime pitfall of the Congress rule in Meghalaya was the frequent change of chief ministers depending on the whims of the High Command. At one time senior MLAs aspiring for the chief minister’s post would rush to Delhi and plead with the High Command to remove a sitting CM and appoint him instead. The late JD Rymbai, a gentleman politician was ruthlessly brought down because he did not grant clearance to cement companies to set up shop in Jaintia Hills at the cost of the environment. Rymbai was replaced by DD Lapang and the 7-8 cement companies were quickly granted clearances. It can only be assumed why the Congress High Command felt the urgency to grant those environmental clearances to cement companies in Meghalaya.
After being out of power for over 10 years the question remains as to whether the Congress Party has learnt any lesson from its past errors and whether it is ready to change tack in its manner of functioning. But judging from the decisions taken at the highest level of the AICC, it would appear that the Nehru-Gandhi family still has the last word. So, when will the Congress learn to practise inner-party democracy? Rahul Gandhi is still the most visible face of the Congress and the issues he has dared to pursue, especially the vote-chori campaign against the BJP are creditable and have won the Congress some traction. But whether Rahul Gandhi has the cutting-edge strategy needed to defeat the BJP – a ruthless foe intent on hitting below the belt and indulging in cantankerous name-calling is debatable. Mallikajun Kharge is hardly in the limelight. It is always Rahul Gandhi who faces the heat; it is his actions and statements that the media focuses on. In effect therefore Kharge is just a figurehead. Unless the Congress Party is able to find a worthy and dynamic leader who is duly elected and not selected, outside of the Nehru-Gandhi family to lead it, chances of it ever returning to power nationally seem bleak. Meghalaya too faces a similar conundrum.
