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REMOVING RELIGIOUS STIGMA 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), enter the poll with high hopes of winning as many seats as possible. Specially coming in for the first time in a big way, yet there is a drawback of having the religious stigma which is associated with the agenda of the RSS  propagation of one religion in the country, which has a diversify belief of various religious belief. The party, especially in Meghalaya has built up a strategy, to woo various religious   denominations. This has come about with the announcement of Tourism Union Minister K.J Alphons of a rupees 70 crore sop of promoting spiritual tourism in the state under the Swadesh Darshan scheme. This proposal   is probably for the first time in the country. Altogether about 40 such projects have been identified to include major sites of the traditional Khasi religion, Niam Khasi Niam tre and the different Christian denominations, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. A meeting was convened   to this effect in New Delhi. There was however no representative from the Congress rules state of Meghalaya.   K.J. Alphons is sour on the attitude of the state government and has expressed his exasperation that the State Government always wants to be anti BJP.        

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THE BELEAGUERED WOMEN POWER

Women power in any community and society has its own role to play, even within a clan or family. The power provides confidence, guidance and also serves as a booster. Therefore in every political party, there is always a women wing.  During the current elections, the women wing of the contesting parties has been geared up. Unfortunately, the Congress seems to have lost its grip on the women wing. The Mahila State Congress have been watered down with the resignation of the General secretary, Havergail Edwina Bareh, who has now formally joined the National People’s Party (NPP) has to her credit,  a fairly good  political record, who secured 2000 votes in the 2014 District council elections.

Havergail is now set to lock horn in the electoral battle from the Shillong West or Mawprem constituency. Interestingly she would be engaged in the contest against sitting legislator Paul Lyngdoh and also his arch rival Mahendro Rapsang of the Congress.   This would upset the vote bank especially of Mahendro Rapsang, as she had extended support to him during the last assembly elections. Along with Havergail, important functionaries of the Mahila Congress, have also left the Congress fold, including former President Ebel War and also N. Warjri. P. Nongpluh and also Liliancy Lyngdoh.        

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STRONG POINT OF CONGRESS

As the campaign is rolling away, the Congress is constantly under attack of various charges like corruption, non performance and nepotism.  The Chief Minister specially has to bear the brunt and at the same time, launch counter attacks against the opponents.  However the face saving factor of the Congress is the reduction of militancy, especially in the Garo Hills, which Mukul Sangma has claimed because of the effectiveness of the State Government. It is of course a pertinent point, that much of the killings, the kidnappings, rapes and murder have reduced and most of the insurgents are on the run or have surrendered. The GNLA Chief Sohan Shira is however still at large.  Mukul claimed that the credit goes to the Congress party which is heading the Government.

  A Non Congress factor of the reduction of militancy is Demonetisation brought about by the BJP Government, which dealt a crushing blow to the coffers of the GNLA and other militant outfits.   

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NPP leader urged people to teach CM' a lesson

NPP leader Mr. Rowell Lyngdoh warned the people of Meghalaya to be careful in availing the last-minute schemes distributed by Dr. Mukul Sangma. One such scheme is the Empowerment of Women Scheme, which was inaugurated way back in 2012. He cited an example of how beneficiaries of this scheme were asked by banks to repay the loan that was disbursed through this scheme.

Meanwhile Mr. Tynsong accused Dr. Sangma of looting the people and the state by introducing useless schemes for farmers like ‘Agar’ and ‘Anthurium plantations’. According to Mr. Tynsong, the money could have been distributed to the farmers who would have used their wisdom and experience to plant what is most suitable for them. He cited this as an example of Dr. Mukul Sangma’s modus operandi to make money. He urged the people of Meghalaya to put an end to this system of looting the people and to teach Mukul Sangma a lesson.

Mr. Rowell Lyngdoh clarified that even though he’s been with the Congress for more than 30 years, he was kicked out from the Congress by the two doctors i.e. Dr. Mukul and Dr. D.D. Lapang because he fought for the development of the area and because they claimed that he’s too old.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started its election campaign for the state of Meghalaya and Mizoram on December 16, 2017 through none other than Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi who is a charismatic leader and a great communicator. Even though the BJP has zero presence in the state of Meghalaya and Mizoram, yet, the party is confident of coming to power. The enthusiasm has gone up because of the twin victory in Himachal and Gujarat.

MIZORAM VISIT While in Mizoram, people resented that the Prime Minister visited the state for the first time after almost 4 years of taking office that too for 1 hour only. Local NGOs initially intended to boycott the visit of the Prime Minister which was later withdrawn. The Prime Minister dedicated 60 MW Tuirial Hydropower project to the nation which is considered a boon for the people of Mizoram. This has also made Mizoram a power surplus state, only after Sikkim and Tripura. “The completion of this project is a reflection of our commitment to completing the ongoing projects and ushering in a new era of development in the North East” said Mr. Modi. He also did not forget to remind the people of Mizoram that Act East Policy of Government of India will make Mizoram the gateway to the South East Asian countries. The Kaladam Multi-Model Transport Project, linking Aizawl with the Sittwe Port in Myanmar would provide a wide range of benefits to the state of Mizoram. In the developmental perspective, Mizoram which was isolated since the last 7 decades is going to be the Front Runner once the Kaladam Multi-Model Transport Project is completed in toto.

However, it is too early to say anything about the poll prospect of Mizoram in the perspective of BJP. It is true that Mizoram is a 100% Christian state where Church and NGOs play an important role in shaping the decision of the people. Secondly, Mizoram being a small state will always like to be a part of the government which can assist the state financially for development. It is a general perception (may not be true) that if the state and the Centre has the same political affiliation, then things become easier and better. Thirdly, political parties cannot ignore the Chakma crisis which also has a role to play besides many other local factors. We have to wait and watch for things to happen.

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LJP submitted a memorandum to the President

The Meghalaya unit of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) submitted a memorandum to the President, Ram Nath Kovind through Meghalaya Governor, Ganga Prasad on a number of issues which includes the demand to include Khasi and Garo languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India, intervention of Prime Minister’s Office for finding solution of boundary dispute between Meghalaya and Assam, passing and implementation of Village Administration Bill (VAB) to empower local chiefs constitutionally, waiver of farmers’ loans in Meghalaya, pursue overall development in the state and to verify if funds have been utilized properly, and the Prime Minister’s Office should initiate peace talk with militant organizations in Meghalaya. 

Since inception of the State in 1972, the condition of villages has not changed. There is no development in rural areas, no roads, interrupted electricity, no health centre in villages, education scam, unemployment of youths is rising as job opportunities were not available in the state, and economy has come down due to ban on coal mining.

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KSU issues warning to Contractors

After getting complains from various local manual workers regarding the denied of work by many contractors in various Constructions,  the Khasi Student Union (KSU) had issued warning to all contractors for bringing labourers from outside the state without proper work Permit or notice by the by the traditional heads.The Union has request the Labour Inspector ka Mawryngkneng C&RD Block, Ngo’s, Headman to be vigilante and watch out for those contractors who employed non-locals labourers in their construction sites especially after Assam Government successfully implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

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Interview dated 20th December The Hill State Peoples Democratic Party(HSPDP) is perhaps the last of the surviving regional parties of the state of Meghalaya and that of North East India. The Assam Gana Parishad (AGP), which is a regional party in the state of Assam was given a lifeline in the concluded Assam election of 2017 where the national party Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) had an alliance with it. However the HSPDP seems to be going alone in the state of Meghalaya as it is vehemently opposed to having any alliance with either the Indian National Congress (INC) or the BJP. The INC has not ruled out any post poll alliance with the HSPDP. The stakes for HSPDP is higher than many of the other parties contesting the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Elections simply because last time round in 2012 they could garner only 4 seats. With the passing of the stalwart in H.S. Lyngdoh the responsibility now lies with Mr Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, the new chief whip of the party. Our Editor, Harsh Jhunjhunwala met with Bah Ardent to discuss the oncoming elections and a little more. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

What is the vision of HSPDP?

You see as a party we have a vision for the state and for a better future for the indigenous people of the state and that is what we stand for.

Politically your presence is not in the entire state of Meghalaya? It is limited to Khasi Hills and somewhat in Jaintia Hills. How do you think that you can make the vision successful for all round development of the indigenous peoples?

I think you have raised a very pertinent question. Our presence is felt mostly in Khasi Hills region. Though we have a vision for the State and Khasi Jaintia region in particular we understand that we will not get the opportunity to realize our dream and to ensure that our vision is taking its complete form we forge an alliance with UDP, another regional Party in-order to fulfill the aspiration of the people and to make our dream come true. And with this alliance we will be able to be in the government and we will be able to take up issues that concern the indigenous people of the state.

Sir will both UDP and HSPDP be fighting in 35 seats approximately?