By Patricia Mukhim
I write this knowing very well that I put my personal and professional reputation on the line. But what must be written has to be written else we become hypocrites unable to express our views for fear of adverse criticism.
Meghalaya’s Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma is the man for all seasons. He seems to glide from meeting to meeting and then be on the ground to meet with real people. Hence he is able to feel the pulse of the people first hand and doesn’t need to rely too much on his official channels. These channels are often peopled by those who believe they are selected to dress well, earn well, work from 10am to 5 pm and get rich quick from means foul or fair. This has been the trick of the trade for the longest time. Its no one’s fault. Its the system that’s broken or was intended to remain broken since it is copy-pasted from the British model.. the same British that once ruled us as sovereigns. That we adopted the playbook of the foreign rulers to then continue with the same kind of “rule” over our own people is in itself severely defective.
Conrad Sangma entered politics after having observed his father, PA Sangma from close quarters. He was as affected as his parents were when on March 25, 1990, the government led by his father was toppled like nine-pins. He was then only 12 years of age, just about to enter the gawky teenage years. The night before the government fell, there were already signs of dissension within the cabinet since Sangma had drastically changed some of the rules of the game especially when it came to land acquisition for road making. I recall PA Sangma saying, “The Government is spending more on land acquisition than on the actual construction of roads.” He saw “corruption” upfront in the Public Works Department (PWD) where engineers leaked state secrets to the business mafia who were informed about probable areas where land would need to be acquired for road projects. These business honchos then bought land for peanuts and sold it back to the government at a premium. PA Sangma wanted to end this culture of crony capitalism and nepotism. But PA Sangma did not bargain for the fact that many MLAs in his government ate out of the hands of the contractor caucus. And that was how Meghalaya lost a visionary CM who wanted to bring in several governance reforms.
Some MLAs swore eternal loyalty to PA Sangma but hardly had they got out of his residence when they were called to another venue where the plan for formation of an alternative government was being hatched. This alternative team was aided and abetted by the leading moneybags of Meghalaya at the time (names cannot be mentioned; those who know, know who they are/were) end will who were discontented with PA Sangma’s who they felt was a spoke on the wheels of their crony capitalist ventures particularly in land acquisition for road projects.
Conrad’s foray into electoral politics was in 2004 when he contested for the Garo Hills District Council elections. Interestingly he lost by 182 votes. But he learnt a critical lesson – grassroots connect was imperative if one was to win elections. He had been away from the state and country for a while for studies and people then did not know him enough to repose their faith in him. Since then, Conrad has learnt the electioneering game better than most politicians.
In 2008 Conrad was first elected to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly for the first time on a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ticket and even held the post of Finance Minister for a very brief period of a year. He also was Minister for Power, Tourism, GAD and IT. Sadly those were the days of frequent electoral earthquakes and from being in the government for one year, Conrad was pushed to playing the role of Leader of the Opposition during 2009-13. During that phase the CMs were DD Lapang, Donkupar Roy (with a brief stint of President’s Rule in between), followed by Dr Mukul Sangma who lasted for nearly three years from April 2010 to March 2013. After that Dr Mukul Sangma continued as CM for a full five years. That was the first time Meghalaya had a government that lasted a full term.
In 2013 Conrad lost the Selsella seat that he contested from the NPP. In fact, the NPP that year won only 2 seats. In 2016 Conrad Sangma contested the bye-election to the Lok Sabha from Tura following the demise of his father. He also took over the Presidentship of the NPP. By 2018 he returned to state politics and won 19 seats for the party. As is the normal course the UDP and other regional parties and the BJP with 2 MLAs teamed up with the NPP to form the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance Government (MDA). The Congress, which won 21 seats could not form the Government as it could not muster a coalition. The MDA lasted its full term and for the first time the government was on a steady keel, allowing governance to be planned and envisioned without fear of being tripped.
In 2023 the NPP returned with 26 seats while the Congress – the main rival could get only 5 seats. It was but natural that the NPP would once again team up with the UDP and HSPDP to form a government. With time some MLAs have switched to the NPP raising their number in the House to 36 MLAs.
Some of the MLAs who left the Congress and other parties to join the NPP have said that Conrad Sangma always takes time to listen to them and hear them out before prescribing any relief. They said that in the Congress it was very difficult to meet the state leaders, much less the central leaders.
Now coming to the assessment of Conrad Sangma as Chief Minister, many will agree with me that it is during the tenure of the MDA government that there’s visible progress in some quarters such as the two IT parks in New Shillong Township (NST). The new Secretariat and other infrastructure are progressing at a decent pace and the new Assembly building appears like it might be able to start sessions by 2027. The saga of the crumbling dome is all but forgotten. Then the Meghalayan Age Pavilion near Wards Lake recently inaugurated is a spectacular space for tourists and locals alike.
Conrad is pursuing the Youth Engagement Programme and other youth-related schemes such as the CM Innovation Scheme, at a frenetic pace. His interface with the youth at Hotel Vivanta recently was most interesting. Conrad didn’t talk down to them. In a one on one he encouraged them to speak and lay out their action plan on a start up they are considering. A young man Banroilang Massar if I recall correctly, told Conrad, “Sir, the road leading to Nongmynsong is under repair and very dusty. It’s very problematic for those of us riding a two-wheeler.” Conrad replied, “Oh I was the one who wanted that road repaired. Should I not have done it?” The young lad said, “No Sir, it’s just that they are taking too long for that one kilometer stretch.” Conrad said, “I will tell the repair guys to speed up the work.” Believe it or not, that same evening people were on the job well into the morning and by next day the work was done. The stretch of road looked spanking new. So that’s Conrad Sangma from up close and personal. I was witness to the conversation between the young college lad and the CM.
Conrad’s Predicament: One thing that Conrad learnt from his father is not to mess with what happens in Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Hence he has left the Khasi Hills to Dy CM Prestone Tynsong and the Jaintia Hills to Sniawbhalang Dhar. In the Garo Hills one sees no challenge to the CM-ship of Conrad Sangma but it is in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills that dissensions never cease. Tynsong feels that Dhar is controlling all the construction work and hence much of the money flows to his coffers. Dhar is merrily running his Dhar Construction Co as a semi-government firm. Perhaps between these two stalwarts there is also a hidden ambition to be the CM of Meghalaya but that looks like a distant dream considering how divisive we are.
The Opposition has repeatedly levelled charges of corruption against the MDA Government and Conrad Sangma in particular but the problem with allegations is that they remain just that-allegations. Unless someone comes up with foolproof evidence. In 2001, I recall being part of a group called Peoples’ Rally Against Corruption (PRAC) which included KSU, FKJGP, SSSS which challenged the state on its attempt to turn Meghalaya House in Russell Street into a corporate establishment through a deal with Asian Housing Construction Ltd (AHCL). We managed to get the MoU signed between the Government and the Company which was a total sell-out on the part of the state. I recall approaching Gauhati High Court with a PIL to rescind the deal even while PRAC raised a banner of protest against the deal. Finally, the deal was rescinded in December 2001 and the EK Mawlong-led Government also fell. So if the Opposition or pressure groups level charges against the MDA Government those have to be evidence-based.
Competence Versus Appeasement: Perhaps what Conrad Sangma must answer for is that he dropped three most competent ministers – AT Mondal, Paul Lyngdoh and Ampareen Lyngdoh just to appease his partymen and alliance partners. Paul Lyngdoh was taking Tourism to a new level; AT Mondal did very well as Power Minister and Ampareen Lyngdoh as Health Minister had made rural outreach her goal- to take health care to the last mile. Rewarding result-oriented performance negatively reflected poorly on the Chief Minister.
Conrad Sangma inherited a huge baggage in Education, Road Infrastructure, Health etc., but in 8 years his government has given its best. I doubt if any other CM could have done it. That’s also because of political stability. Now some have begun asking – Who will be the CM in 2028?
Your guess is as good as mine. Time will tell. Let the people judge!