Shillong, May 6: Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee secretary Manuel Badwar has said that despite the BJP’s recent electoral gains, the people of the state will not accept the ideology the party stands for.
“The population and populace (of Meghalaya) themselves are not ideologically aligned with BJP, so we will see what is up their sleeves,” said the party leader on Wednesday.
“They have tricks everywhere, they use government mechanisms also to ensure that they will win such election but in Meghalaya and other North Eastern states it will not be such a cake walk for them and we believe that sooner or later the Congress has come back, it is not going to be long,” he added.
Badwar said people are beginning to reject divisive politics.
“The emotion of the people also slowly has realized that the divisive tactic of the BJP will not resonate for long and resonate for the rest of the many years to come.”
“If you ask me, the only likely opposition that is required in democracy is the Congress. Yes, we are not saying that the BJP is not gaining ground, it has gained ground in some states, but to say that the Congress is not gaining ground is very wrong,” Badwar said, reacting to the BJP’s victory in the just-concluded elections.
He said like-minded parties opposed to the BJP’s ideology are emerging across states.
“We have like-minded parties, for that matter even in Tamil Nadu whose ideology is very much against the BJP, and such parties have come to the fore, which means that the public at large have understood what the BJP is working.”
Citing Kerala as a Congress stronghold, he said, “So you have Kerala which is a Congress-dominated state and the Congress has come out with flying colours in Kerala.”
On Assam and West Bengal, he said, “We lost in Assam. Bengal in any way was never ours because we believe the AITC was playing very hard ball, they don’t want to elaborate, they don’t want to have a pre-poll alliance, so now they suffer.”
Badwar argued that BJP’s recent wins do not signal a nationwide sweep.
“In the long run, you can’t say that the BJP just because it has won in these states they will capture everywhere, it does not make sense because ideologically speaking the BJP still has a long way to go.”
While acknowledging the role of regional parties, he maintained that Congress will revive nationally and in Meghalaya.
“Even in Meghalaya, while the regional forces will play a very critical role as it has started to play in many parts of the country, but in national level I believe that the Congress will come back and in Meghalaya, yes we have had a very bad spate of times but then 2028 is still a long way to go.”
“We are working at grassroot level, we are building brick by brick, we are building unit by unit and we believe in 2028 we will come back,” Badwar said.
Shillong LS bypoll: Badwar rules himself out; Party yet to decide on candidate
The Congress has not finalised its candidate for the upcoming Shillong Lok Sabha by-election, with Badwar ruling himself out of the race.
“I think I have made it very clear as far as the Congress is concerned, we have not decided, we are yet to sit for a meeting. However, the recommendation has gone to Delhi, AICC will make the final decisions,” Badwar said when asked about the party’s decision.
He said the party does not have many aspirants for the seat.
“So, we don’t have many takers for the same, we have few leaders and a round has been going on that Manuel Badwar will also be one of the aspiring candidates. I want to make it categorically very clear that I don’t have any intention to contest in the MP election,” he said.
Explaining his decision, Badwar cited his limited experience and the short tenure of the bypoll.
“First, the simple fact that I am very new, simple fact that it is only a two-year term, it is going to be increasingly difficult for anybody who is new to enter the arena of Parliament and we are not going to be as productive as somebody who is already there, who is somebody who has already been in the line of work.”
He added, “For me personally, I keep telling people that it is important to send somebody who already understands the entire nuances of Parliament and its functioning rather than sending somebody who is new because two years is not enough time.”
Parties to study expert panel report on reservation policy
Political parties will examine the Expert Committee report on the state reservation policy in detail before taking a formal stand, leaders said Wednesday after an all-party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
Badwar said the meeting was called to brief parties on the panel’s findings.
“The meeting was convened by the chief minister, who just wanted to brief us on the report of the expert committee that was formed on the reservation policy and the findings, thereof and the recommendation that was given,” he said.
Describing the interaction, Badwar said, “It was a very candid meeting for which the chief minister himself has not taken it lightly and we respect that.”
He added, “We believe that reservation has worked well for the past 50 years, there is no requirement to shake the hornets’ nest and I think the point is very clear and as responsible citizens of the state, we have to look at it.”
Noting that the Congress is yet to study the document, he said, “The expert committee itself has come out with a comprehensive report and while we have not read the report yet and as party concerned, I don’t think we have sat because the report is quite long.”
“We will have a look at it in the time to come and probably have some point to raise and maybe not have also, it depends on the party,” Badwar added.
TMC legislator from Ampati Miani D. Shira also said the party will discuss the report internally before commenting.
“So, we have gotten the representation from the committee and the committee findings, so we will be discussing at party level and right now reserve our comments, so once we have a party-level meeting, we will come out with our statement,” she said.
