By The Editor
About three months are left before general elections to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly will be held and some sitting legislators are scouting for greener pasteurs. Already on November 28, two MLAs from the National People’s Party (NPP) and one from the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) resigned from the assembly and will join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) next month. The two NPP MLAs who resigned are Ferlin C.A.Sangma from Selsella and Benedic Marak from Raksamgre, both from Garo Hills, while the lone AITC legislator is Himalaya Muktan Shangpliang from Mawsynram, East Khasi Hills. All the three will switch over to the BJP with intention of developing the state as the party has ample resources especially being the ruling party at the Centre and the two NPP legislators from Garo Hills stated that they have nothing against the party but for development purposes.
Meghalaya is populated by majority of tribals who constitute about 80 per cent of the population most of whom are meat-eaters, including beef, and it is also Christian-majority state. Propaganda has been circulating that BJP is against beef-eating since cow is looked upon as sacred and worshipped by Hindus and the party is also anti-Christian. Shangpliang has rubbished all these false allegations adding that in his constituency the party leaders are church elders and catechists. The situation has at present changed considerably unlike 2-5 years back, he justified. It may be mentioned that last year 12 MLAs of the Grand Old Party (GOP) under leadership of Dr.Mukul Sangma after quitting the Congress joined AITC with great expectations which, however, does not seem to be favourable. Meanwhile, Baghmara MLA from Garo Hills, Samuel B. Sangma has withdrawn his support to the ruling MDA (Meghalaya Democratic Alliance) government and resigned as associate member of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and is also likely to join BJP. Sangma had won as an independent candidate in 2018 and then joined UDP on September 16, 2018 as associate member.
Meanwhile, former MLA from Phulbari (West Garo Hills) Abu Taher Mondal resigned from Congress on November 29 and will probably join NPP. Mondal, former Speaker of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, will contest from Phulbari. S.G Esmatur Mominin may not get NPP ticket and speculations are that he will join AITC. Such activities by politicians are not new and public also are not surprised at all since it has become normal all along these past years too. It may be recalled that state president of NPP, Dr.W.R.Karlukhi, had recently hinted that three sitting NPP MLAs will not be getting party tickets. So the game has just begun as expected and more will follow suit in days and weeks to come. Come what may, all have prepared with plenty of tricks up their sleeves and so ever ready to justify their actions. Loyalty to political party is after all a matter of convenience and one should remember that, “in politics there are no permanent friends or permanent foes either”.