With Cong, BJP struggling, regional forces eye opportunities in Meghalaya

New Delhi, Sept 25: The regional parties are in demand in the poll-bound Meghalaya as confronted with the anti-incumbency wave, the Congress faces an uphill task, while the pro-Hindutva BJP is still looking for roots in the predominantly Christian hub. After belligerent attempts to make deeper penetration, apparently the saffron party is no longer keen to project any BJP leader as Chief Ministerial face and this has led many regional players to aspire for the prized post. The refrain being : situation is ripe for a non-Congress Chief Minister. In terms of media glare, Conrad Sangma of National People's Party (NPP) will be certainly one leader to be watched, but leaders from other state-based parties do not want to give up the race so easily either. As a result, the leaders from People's Democratic Front (PDF), a fledgling NCP unit, United Democratic Party (UDP) and Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) are more than clear in stating that several sitting Congress legislators would join their (respective) party. Even the BJP is not behind in these and a number of Independent and Congress leaders are already in touch with the saffron party stalwarts. "The 2018 assembly elections will relieve the spirit of Late legendary regionalist B B Lyngdoh -- who used to say regional parties in Meghalaya think and act local but with a national outlook," said one senior UDP leader suggesting that NPP leader Conrad Sangma may not have 'cake walk' in running away with the Chief Minister's post. In fact, the UPD and HSPDP have already announced their mutual alliance and even some of the candidates are being named. The BJP leaders have so far found the going tough in view of controversies sustaining around 'beef ban controversy'. "The Lotus, BJP's symbol, cannot bloom in Meghalaya rocks. As a principle, the people are not yet ready to accept it and therefore attempts are being made by BJP leaders to win over Christians and also piggyback the NPP and other regional parties," a retired banker K Barnabas, who attended a meeting with BJP leader Nalin Kohli, told UNI over phone. James Sangma, spokesman for NPP and brother of Conrad Sangma, said, "The ground is now clear for the rejection of the Congress and hence people are jumping ship". A spokesman for Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) D Jyndiang also said, “The Congress chances of returning to power is bleak". All these facts combine together to strengthen argument in favour of "weakening of Congress" but -- at the same time, the stage is not set for the pro-Hindutva BJP either. Hence, the regional leaders are optimistic about their respective future roadmap. However, according to a number of leaders both in Congress and BJP, regionalism has a different history in Meghalaya unlike many other states and is often seen as "a narrow ideology" bordering around parochial lines. UNI