SHILLONG, February 25: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ecstatic about three of its candidates making a debut in the Meghalaya Assembly. All three elected members have floored two sitting Congress political heavyweights and a senior UDP sitting legislator.Although most political observers were convinced that senior Congress legislator and Forest Minister J M Pariat had a fight in his hand against young businessman and political greenhorn BJP candidate A L Hek, few actually believed the latter would wrestle the Pynthorumkhrah seat from Pariat. Everyone was stunned when Hek defeated Pariat by a handsome margin of 2,505 votes. However, the defeat of Pariat at the hands of Hek is the culmination of various factors that characterise voters of the constituency.
Pynthorumkhrah has a mixed population with most of them being non-tribals. Pariat was quite popular among them till four years ago when the district administration decided to demolish most of the illegal houses constructed on government land in Pologround, which was under his constituency. Although Pariat was a home minister then, he did nothing to stop the demolition. He was also accused of doing little to rehabilitate those affected by the demolition. Hek grabbed this opportunity.
Although he was not in a position to do anything substantial, his offers of sympathy to the affected won him their admiration. The composition of the electorates of the Laban constituency, which was clinched by BJP candidate T H Rangad from former minister and sitting UDP legislator Anthony Lyngdoh, is similar. The constituency has a mixed electorate of tribals and non-tribals. This former bank officer has a following cutting across communities and religions because of his charisma and honesty in addressing diverse issues.
However, the most unexpected win for BJP came from Dalu in West Garo hills where candidate Nityanarayan Simchang defeated sitting Congress MLA and minister Archibold A Sangma. This could be attributed to the population structure, which includes Garos,Hajong, Koch and non-tribals. Non-Christian votes, that include Hajong, Koch and non-tribals, aided the BJP's victory.The BJP won three of the 27 Assembly seats it contested. In the 1993 elections, they had fielded 19 candidates but had drawn a blank. At the time, the party was viewed as one that propagated a Hindu raj. However, it is no longer considered ``untouchable ''. This was seen during Advani's public rally held here just before the polls where it drew a moderate crowd comparable to those drawn by UDP public rally at the same venue.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
