Gutter politics

Meghalaya is in the grip of a political storm. The MPA is facing a peculiar situation with one resignation a day in the past two days. It is curious that the UDP President, Dr Donkupar Roy did not get wind of the impending resignations of two of his party colleagues and MLAs - Ampareen Lyngdoh and Nimarson Momin. Politics requires that the leader has three eyes, two in front to ward off frontal attacks by opponents and one behind to guard against back-stabbing by colleagues turned foes. Obviously Dr Roy is a bad judge of human character. Attrition in the UDP camp began when staunch supporters of the party in Umroi walked out just before the bye-election and supported the Congress candidate. Dr Roy knew that trouble was brewing but failed to stem the rot. The UDP ended up losing the Umroi seat and now the government. Politics is a different ball game requiring different sets of rules, none of which are written in stone. Every party that knows its politics has trouble shooters who can handle tricky situations and massage hurt egos. The UDP does not seem to have any such master strategists. The party depends entirely on the President to do the leg work and to also play the role of a patriarch. This year has been particularly stormy for the UDP. The Umroi defeat has had a snowballing effect, resulting in the resignation of three of its members, two of then MLAs and one a former MLA candidate who is now contesting the Tura Lok Sabha seat as an Independent. Arlene Sangma is right in questioning why the UDP has not set up a candidate for the Tura seat when a major constituent of the MPA - the HSPDP has put up a candidate in Shillong? This ambivalence within the MPA has not only confused the voters but it also exposes the internal contradictions within the coalition. Today the political situation in Meghalaya is so fluid that it is almost impossible to predict what will happen next. The Congress led Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) had been working relentlessly to capture the government by engineering defections in the MPA and inducing others to resign their posts so that the ride to power is facilitated. Meghalaya Governor, RS Mooshahary appears to fall in line with the Congress's design. Democracy in Meghalaya is truly a game of dice played by charlatans who make their own rules and ensure they win by hook or crook. THE SHILLONG TIMES