Journalism of Courage
As a beleaguered Congress fights to remain relevant in the coming Meghalaya Assembly elections, the party’s Lok Sabha MP from the state, Vincent Pala, has emerged as its face.
The Congress, which was the single largest party in the 2018 elections with 21 MLAs, is now left with no sitting legislator after a dramatic overnight exodus to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC). Many say it was Pala’s appointment in August 2021 as the Congress state unit president that precipitated the disintegration of the party.
As the Congress enters the poll fray with a majority of greenhorn candidates, Pala tells The Indian Express how, more than a challenge, it is an opportunity.
Edited excerpts:
In the beginning, when everybody left the Congress, we had a big setback. But we picked up fast. We have got good candidates in every seat.
More than a challenge, it is an opportunity. Many senior leaders had a lot of corruption charges against them. After they left, we could pick up fresh people, fresh faces, with no (corruption) baggage. They are young, they are educated (47 of 60 candidates are less than 45 years old) — isn’t that an opportunity?
Earlier, most of our candidates were Class 10 or 12 graduates. But, as of today, we have candidates from IIM or IIT. One resigned from a government job to join us. Some of them have a corporate background. One of them is a lecturer. We have 10 women candidates. So, that shows that we have many candidates who left their job … sacrificed to join us. Now, if they did not see any scope in the Congress, why would they join us?
They left because they were driven by their personal ambition … it really had nothing to do with the Congress.
That is also just an excuse – why would someone who is in the status of the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) not get any attention from the high command?
I have seen in Meghalaya these big meetings, rallies, if you (political parties) pay money, people will attend. This is because in Meghalaya, unemployment is very high, they need the money. But it does not translate into votes. When we do door-to-door meetings, the result is better. We will have one or two big meetings, but more focus is on door to door. It has a personal touch.
Corruption is the main issue in this election. This government (led by NPP) has looted the state shamefully … there is no fear, the BJP is protecting them. You will find it (corruption) from the top level to the lowest level. As a result, Meghalaya is the poorest state in the Northeast.
People leave for their own benefits — but you will be surprised to see how much support the Congress still has at the grassroots.
