For an observer used to the noise and mudslinging that has become synonymous with electoral politics in the rest of India, particularly the Hindi heartland, there is something very civilised in the way Meghalaya - one of India's most beautiful states whose very name means Abode of Clouds - is gearing up for its state elections. The fact that candidates could outline their vision for the state and adhere to actual issues while debating matters important to the people of the state and northeastern India in general, without personally insulting opposing candidates, was a very pleasant revelation. 

There were no ugly posters defacing walls, decibel levels in election speeches were moderate, and party candidates went quietly to register their candidacy, mindful that they should not cause traffic jams and inconvenience voters.

These democratic best practices, the civility of discourse which seems to be fast disappearing and some of the vision of political parties in the fray were on view when, in what can be best described as a town hall meeting, leaders of eight political parties and combines converged at Shillong’s Synod College and outlined the main components of their political agendas for these state polls, due on February 27.

While it was a bit ironic that the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) went unrepresented at this first-ever effort to provide a platform for all parties to lay out their agendas and take questions from students and people who are voters, every other party, including the Congress, TMC and BJP, KAM Meghalaya, VPP (Voice of People’s Party), PDF, HSPDP, and UDP, was represented. The interaction, organised by the Synod College’s Department of Political Science, called “Political Parties’ Agenda - A Public Interface,” saw eight leaders and party spokespersons highlight their priorities for the state.

In fact, it took someone coming in from outside to start the ‘name calling,’ with the Congress Party’s Jairam Ramesh referring to Mukul Sangma, the former Congress party leader who defected to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) last year, as ‘Judas’. The analogy would find resonance in the Christian majority state, but, as Patricia Mukhim, Editor of the Shillong Times, said, it was an unfair portrayal because the Congress party needed to introspect on just why Mukul Sangma, who was the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, felt compelled to leave the party. And correct those issues if Congress wants to remain relevant.

Income disparity and core issues

After all, though it could not form the government, the Congress was the single largest party in the previous (2018) elections, with 21 MLAs, all of whom have now left the party, most legislators moving almost overnight to the TMC. Apparently, the ‘high command’s’ decision to bring in Vincent Pala, a 3 – term Member of Parliament from Shillong, to head the state unit, caused the local legislators to move out. Pala, from a wealthy coal-mining family, has been valiantly carrying the party flag and, while admitting the party has faced “setbacks,” swiftly named 60 candidates and is campaigning hard along with a bunch of young, educated, new people whose vision appears more in sync with the requirements of the hill state’s younger population.

Manuel Badwar, the Congress candidate from East Shillong, said his party was focused on how to improve the state’s education system and proposed to set up community colleges for students who couldn’t afford normal colleges and also to establish a state university. Badwar said, with education comes employability. “We will address the unemployment by plugging into online sales portals like Amazon, who bring in trucks of goods from outside the state but go back carrying nothing. Meghalaya can create a marketing hub and delivery centre, creating employment avenues for youth,” he said.

The disparity in income between the rich and the ordinary person in the state is growing, and clearly visible. Meghalaya, a resource-rich state with a population of 3.8 million generates internal revenue of Rs 2,900 crore while Sikkim, with only 800,000 people, generates internal revenue of Rs 4,600 crore. 

"Outsider' insinuations and local pride

But it was another ‘outsider’, India's powerful Home Minister Amit Shah, whose statement calling Meghalaya the most corrupt state in the country and blasting the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government (which the BJP helped to create and supported until three months ago) which has really stunned the gentle people of the hill state and caused consternation.

“This is typical of the BJP,” said a former state minister who did not want to be named. “For mismanaging an amount of Rs 1849 crores (relating to a coal mining scam) the state is labelled most corrupt! This has hurt local pride.”

At the Synod College meeting, leaders of every party present spoke of revamping healthcare and education and addressed unemployment issues. BJP state secretary GF Shullai said his party was trying to incorporate some new issues in their manifesto. “Our only agenda is to serve the people of the state,” he said, evoking skeptical responses from the audience. Shullai, whose party supported the Conrad Sangma-led MDA, spoke of how people have benefited from the programmes initiated by the BJP-led central government, including getting free rice.

TMC leader, Fabian Lyngdoh promised to revive and strengthen Meghalaya’s economy by reducing revenue leakage and reducing corruption. Lyngdoh, whose party is expected to gain significantly in these elections, said the TMC would aim to restore Meghalaya’s status as the education hub of the Northeast.

Criticising the BJP, the KAM Meghalaya leader Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh said the BJP did not respect constitutional values and was destroying the country’s federal structure. What was heartening was the civility of the exchanges, with no attempts to denigrate political opponents.

Grassroots democracy and ironies

However, what was ironic at this meeting was, that in a matrilineal society, where almost 41 per cent of households are headed by single women, there was not a single woman among the representatives on the dais. Mukhim lamented this fact, saying grave issues of high infant and maternal mortality and 52 per cent anaemia among women received no mention, eliciting sheepish nods of agreement from the speakers.

It was interesting to observe how focused party representatives and voters in this small northeastern state bordering Bangladesh were on basic development issues; and how vocal voters are in seeking their basic rights at the local level, perhaps showing what genuine grassroots democracy should reflect. 

(The writer is a senior journalist and analyst. Views are personal. She can be reached at nilovarc@gmail.com)