SHILLONG, FEB 21: Political parties and aspiring candidates have had their say with the campaigning for the Saturday’s Meghalaya elections coming to an end on Thursday. It’s now the turn of the 15,03,907 electorates of the state to have theirs and decide the fate of 345 candidates who are seeking to enter the 60-seat Assembly.
Candidates across the state hit the road in right earnest throughout the day in the last ditch effort to impress the voters with the streets of Shillong in particular a riot of colour and clamour. Deputy chief minister and UDP East Shillong candidate Bindo M Lanong, his party colleague Paul Lyngdoh from West Shillong, Congress’s Pynthorumkhrah candidate AL Hek, KHNAM North Shillong candidate Adelbert Nongrum, Mawlai UDP candidate, Embhah Syiemlieh and Congress West Shillong candidate M Rapsang were among the host of leaders who campaigned with thousands of their supporters in different nook and cranny of the capital city, celebrating, as it were, the dance of democracy.
Come counting day, there will be no dancing for some of them, though.
The Congress, which is contesting all the 60 seats, will be hoping it will have better chances of celebrating than sulking. So will its ally in the present government, UDP, which has fielded candidates in 50 seats. The P. A. Sangma-led National Peoples’ Party, which has 32 candidates in the fray, the NCP and the BJP with 21 and 13 candidates respectively, on the other hand, will be hoping to do a tango or more come the result day.
The regional parties, of course, have made the alleged bad governance of the Mukul Sangma-led government a big poll issue, highlighting the many scams that were unearthed during their campaigns. The job scam involving the high and the mighty was one of them. Another scam mentioned regularly was the alleged violation of the Forest Act 1980 by cement companies in the limestone-rich Jaintia Hills district.
Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee president and former chief minister D. D. Lapang, however, listed the many “good deeds” of the government on the basis of which, he believes, the people will vote his party back to power. “Meghalaya has emerged as a model state in the country in terms of good administration. It has successfully implemented several centrally-sponsored schemes, including the Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Programme, which are aimed at providing sustainable livelihood programs for the rural poor,” he claimed.
Chief minister Sangma sought to take credit for starting several long-pending infrastructure projects, including the four-laning of the Shillong-Guwahati highway and the construction of the Shillong bypass. He also credited his government with trying to put a stop to the mushrooming of militancy in the Garo Hills region.
Host of senior Congress leaders, including prime minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi, Union ministers A K Anthony and Sushil Kumar Shinde, president of the Mahila Congress Anita Varma and NSUI president Rahit Choudhury, flew into Meghalaya to canvass support for the party.
Not to be outdone, opposition parties also roped in some prominent leaders from outside the state to campaign for them. They included leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, Goa deputy chief minister Francis D Sousa, and BJP’s women’s wing president Smriti Irani.
Prominent candidates in the fray in Verdict 2013 include chief minister Sangma, home minister H D R Lyngdoh, education minister R C Laloo, Congress president D D Lapang, former chief minister and UDP president Don Kupar Roy, former Leader of Opposition and son of P A Sangma Conrad K Sangma and his brother James Sangma.
And to ensure all the contesting candidates do not resort to money and muscle power to win the election, the Election Commission has formed flying squads and static surveillance teams. These teams have managed to seize cash, arms and ammunition, IEDs and several thousand litres of liquor from supporters cutting across party lines.
The stage then is set for a fascinating contest, come Saturday. (By Our Reporter)
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