By Dr Benjamin Lyngdoh
The recently held 2024 MP election for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat saw a lot of hype and insurmountable wave for Voice of the People Party (VPP). Its candidate Dr. Ricky Syngkon got a total of 5,71,078 votes and won by a huge margin of 3,71,910 votes. The reasons for this are twofold – first, there was an anger of the electorate against the governance of the NPP-led coalition, and second, emotion amongst the electorate played a significant role. These factors were driven by a very catchy song to which the majority could relate and a new political viewpoint – that it is only VPP that can bring real and tangible change to the grassroots. Nine months have passed since the phenomenon. So, do the factors still hold true or has the situation changed vis-à-vis the upcoming KHADC and JHADC elections?
The hype
If the Shillong Lok Sabha seat is taken as a parameter, then the only way to defeat VPP is to deal with the existing hype. The recent voices from the top brass of National People’s Party (NPP), United Democratic Party (UDP), Congress, etc. are all an indication of this effort. These parties have insinuated in recent months that the only way to get development schemes and progress in the respective constituencies is to have a political representative (MLA and/or MDC) who is a part of the ruling coalition. This is in fact unethical and constitutionally wrong. It can also be considered as a crime. A political party is different from a government. A political party may care only for its constituents but a government in actuality should be of the entire state irrespective of the political affiliations of the people. For instance, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is the CM of Meghalaya and not of NPP or MDA 2.0. While MDA 2.0 is using its current power positioning to sway the voters, on the contrary, VPP is counting on the problems and misery of the poor and underprivileged. The former is trying to alleviate the hype while the latter is trying to keep it alive and running. It can be expected that the coming elections will be a hype-based hyper battle.
The arguments
The Meghalaya MLA 2023 election and especially the Shillong Lok Sabha seat 2024 election saw the quality of campaigning in terms of the content at its lowest low. Never in the history of politics in Meghalaya were the tone of the debates and arguments for and against so crass and demeaning at times. The real developmental issues were subsumed by mother’s/father’s surname, the quality of a campaign song, the personal background and lifestyle of the candidates, etc. Better is to be expected from the candidates, political parties and electorate. However, the assessment of the current political scenario in Meghalaya tells us differently. It is better to be realistic and not whine about the content of the campaign speeches for as of today they hold of little significance to the voters. 90% of the voters have already decided they are going to vote for which party. No one really cares for the remaining 10% undecided voters. As a result, there will be a lot of ‘playing to the gallery’ whereby the candidates and the campaigning will see a lot of poking, taunting, intimidation (and even abuse) just to keep the crowds happy. This is a strategy to keep the voters on their respective sides. The current political environment is such that it is better to not expect a rich and engaging election campaigning.
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The booth
A polling booth is basically a specified location (school/college/community hall, etc..) where the households/voters that are assigned to it are supposed to turn up and cast their vote. The concept of a booth is interesting as it specifically lists the names of people who are entitled to vote. This creates a scope for the candidates to target with precision each and every voter. The coming KHADC and JHADC elections have the settings where by the chance of winning and the risk of losing will depend on the booth level campaigning. This is because there is little possibility of constructive political content in public meetings for reasons as stated above. So the only platform whereby the political parties can really present their case and for the voters to question and counter them back is when they visit each and every household. The parties that can really engage with the electorate one-on –one will carry the day. Every vote counts!
For parties like NPP, UDP and Congress this is the best way to beat the VPP hype, whereas for VPP, booth level campaigning can ensure an even more handsome victory in some of its strongholds. For instance, when Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to the picture in Delhi in November, 2012, it did very well in the 2013 election by winning 28 of the 70 seats. This was followed by a resounding victory of 67 out of 70 seats in 2015. This was achieved because of a dedicated team of youth at the booth level who entered each and every household during campaigning. KHADC, JHADC and GHADC also need something like this. The only problem here is that candidate/political party visits at the booth level are purely a formality as there is no discussion and discourse at all. This has to change.
In the end, one thing is expected. The upcoming elections will be most interesting and exciting. This may well turn into the most crucial and surprising elections ever in the history of Meghalaya politics. Watch this space!
(The writer is an associate professor in the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, NEHU. He can be reached at email – blyngdoh@gmail.com)
Note: Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of 4FrontMedia)
