Poll primer: 5 things to know about Meghalaya elections

In Meghalaya, the fear of the “outsider”, often used to denote people from Bangladesh, is an enduring political issue. This time, while the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre made the issue even more prominent, what added fuel to the fire was the rise in the state of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), often described as a “Bengali party” or a party of “outsiders”.

In the run-up to the polls, the TMC and the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) often exchanged words over it. Former chief minister and Congress-turned-TMC leader Mukul Sangma even accused Chief Minister Conrad Sangma of using a racial slur after the latter allegedly use the word “Bengali” in a speech to attack the TMC. Conrad claimed he had said Bengal-based party and not Bengali.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also jumped into the fray in his speeches, telling a rally in Garo Hills: “You live near the Bangladesh border, tell me that if the TMC comes here, will infiltration increase or decrease? If you want to stop infiltration, bring the Modi government here too. No infiltrator will be able to step into Meghalaya.”

Coal mining

In 2014, the National Green Tribunal banned all coal mining in the state, calling it illegal. Since then, it has become a highly contentious matter in Meghalaya, with the absence of economic opportunities making royalty on coal a major source of revenue.

In 2018 as well, the coal mining ban had been a prominent poll issue, with the Opposition attacking the then incumbent Congress government of not doing anything to get the ban revoked. The BJP had promised to revive coal mining in the state if elected to power.

After the NPP-led government, with the BJP as one of its constituents, came to power, it challenged the ban in the Supreme Court. In 2019, the Court allowed mining in private tribal land, citing the Sixth Schedule that provides special rights to certain areas in the Northeast, and asked Meghalaya to formulate a scientific mining plan.

Earlier this year, CM Conrad Sangma said the Union Ministry of Coal had approved the geological reports sent by four Meghalaya miners, and that the state was “one step away” from restarting legal, scientific mining.

With this yet to happen, the Congress and TMC attacked the NPP government in their campaigns. Almost all parties also promised in their manifestos to ensure scientific mining in the state.

Border dispute with Assam

The death of six state residents in firing by the Assam Police last year has led to fresh resurgence of the age-old border dispute with Assam. The incident came just months after the Meghalaya government had signed what it described as a “historic” pact with Assam to solve part of the border crisis.

During the campaign, the Opposition accused the state government of not taking all the stakeholders involved into confidence. The ruling NPP, in turn, promised in its manifesto that it will continue to work towards arriving at a workable solution, while the TMC said it would revoke the pact if voted to power.

Inner Line Permit (ILP)

The implementation of the ILP, which would make it mandatory to acquire a permit so as to travel to certain restricted areas, is an old demand in Meghalaya. But, it has got a renewed push since the CAA was passed in 2019.

While the protests on the matter, leading to violence against linguistic minorities, have died down, the issue was in the forefront during the election campaign. The NPP promised to bring in ILP if given another term, the BJP said it would “address the issue” if elected to power, while several of the smaller regional parties also made it a part of their pre-poll electioneering.

The TMC received flak from some quarters for its silence on the issue in its manifesto.

Corruption

The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, including the NPP and BJP, battled several allegations of corruption in the past five years. In the elections, it remained an issue for the Opposition parties. The promise to rid Meghalaya of corruption and work for its development dominated rallies and manifestos.

With the NPP and BJP fighting separately, Shah at one of his rallies attacked both the Sangmas – the NPP’s Conrad, and the TMC’s Mukul – saying “the two families had indulged in corruption and filled their own coffers with poor people’s money”.

The BJP also promised in its manifesto a Special Task Force to investigate all cases of corruption. The Congress released a “chargesheet” listing several alleged scams under the Conrad Sangma government.