Prashanta Barua
The pre poll political landscape in Meghalaya has become fascinating as the north eastern state has around 4 months for the assembly polls.
The emergence of TMC, erosion of Congress base in many places along with a slew of burning issues are making it difficult for the poll experts to predict the entire exercise. The pulse of the people is also not clear in the face of as to the fate of the NPP-led government.
Since it was installed in 2018, the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government with NPP president Conrad Sangma as Chief Minister has been grappling with a number of issues.
The growing unemployment is expected to be a major issue that could hamper then poll prospect of MDA, particularly,NPP if the recent huge rally in Shillong is any indication.
“Unemployment, no doubt, will be a major issue this time. The present dispensation has failed to prepare a conducive policy to deal with the issue, ” said Khasi Students’ Union president Lambok Marngar.
Same sentiment echoed in Lenient D Sangma, a Garo youth activist, who agreed unemployment was a major issue as on date.
The MDA coalition partners claimed to have partially resolved the decade old border issue with Assam. But the reality is quite different. According to Lenient, the border dispute remains unsolved. “The resentment is still there among the people residing along the Assam-Meghalaya border areas,” said KSU president Lambok Marngar.
Corruption is not a new issue and it won’t have any impact in 2023.This was more or less of what Garo youth activist Sangma said. “MDA regime was more corrupt than that of the present dispensation,” he observed.
But the Centre has drawn no less ire in the length and breadth of the state on the issue of the introduction of inner line permit issue. KSU president Marngar rued that the state adopted unanimous resolution demanding the ILP in the state on December 19,2019. “But the Centre has not considered it with due seriousness. This is one of the core issues across the state. Don’t understand what forced the Centre to keep mum, ” he said.
The emergence of TMC, initially, was condidered a threat for MDA when 13 Congress legislators under the leadership of former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma merged with the ruling party in West Bengal leaving Congress in the lurch. “But it will have hardly any impact since the people have stopped reposing faith on the new party,” said Lenient adding that the people have nothing to trust these politicians.
Meanwhile, all political parties are busy with formulating strategies after careful observation of issues.
According to the experts, the
TMC activities have lost the steam as soon as the major scam surfaced in the education department of West Bengal where education minister Partha Chatterjee was sent to jail.
Congress has been desperately trying to regain the strength sans top leaders like Mukul Sangma. The state leadership have been holding a series of meetings to gear up for the polls under the leadership of Shillong MP Vincent Pala.
According to information, the MDA coalition partners, mostly, want to go to the polls without any pre poll alliance.
With just 2 legislators BJP is also sparing no pain to hike it’s tally in 2023. The ruling party at the Centre is concentrating the Khasi and Jaintia dominated areas to steal the show.
If these schemes of things persist, the north eastern state has less chance of majority for any party like 2018. But the equation might change if a considerable chunk of Congress vote prefer NPP in some pockets. Will it happen?
News Mania Desk
