National

Pocket-Sized Veto?

The Little Big Man of North-east gambles on his home-turf, but it could go either way

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Pocket-Sized Veto?
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Does P.A. Sangma have a larger design in throwing his lot with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar? Or has he got his ca lculations completely wrong? As always, opinion is divided across the seven states of the North-east.

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According to some, Sangma, who's had a meteoric rise to the top in just over a quarter century of politics, has over-reached himself in rebelling against the Congress high command. Others, particularly in his home-turf of Garo Hills, view his move with some admiration. The truth, perhaps, lies somewhere in between.

Sangma, who shot into national limelight when he became the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha, has always been something of a loner in North-east politics. Yet, ever since he first won the Lok Sabha elections from Tura in 1977, Sangma has come up trumps in every subsequent election. 'I am my voters' man and nobody else's,' he declared after he won the 1998 polls. The statement probably explains his current stand. While Indira Gandhi had given him his first chance in politics and Rajiv later made him a minister of state at the Centre, the tiny powerhouse from the North-east has never had to depend upon anyone to win his seat, not even the famed Gandhi family charisma.

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In a region where tribal loyalty comes before fidelity to the party, Sangma has at least 20 of the 60 mlas in Meghalaya, all of them Garos, firmly behind him. However, the Khasis, the dominant tribe in Meghalaya, may not be so enthused by Sangma's rebellion. And in any case, no single leader, even if he is of Sangma's recently-acquired stature, can ever hope to have widespread acceptability in the diverse regions of the North-east.

Consequently, the ex-Speaker may have overestimated his own reach and influence. As O.L. Nongtdu, president of the Meghalaya unit of the Congress said: 'The letter (by the rebel trio) expressed Sangma's personal opinion and not the mpcc position.' The mpcc did pass a resolution asking Sangma's expulsion to be reconsidered and two chief ministers, S.C. Jamir and Mukut Mithi, have stayed aloof from all the breast-beating at Delhi - a hint of tacit endorsement of Sangma.

But Tarun Gogoi, Sangma's colleague in the Union ministry and currently president of the Assam unit of the Congress, was more scathing. In a letter to Sonia Gandhi, Gogoi urged her to take appropriate action against the trio for their 'act of betrayal'. 'The apcc is of the view that the timing and the manner in which these leaders have made such a move is quite reprehensible as it seemed to be endorsing the bjp's slanderous and malicious campaign,' Gogoi said in the letter. In fact, the Sangh has had its eye on the former Speaker for some time now. 'I hold Sangma in very high esteem,' rss ideologue Devendra Swaroop had said recently.

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'He had everything going for him, especially after Sonia had chosen him to head the task force to suggest ways for a Congress revamp. I don't know what prompted him to go against her,' mourned a Congressman. The Gandhi family has had a good image in the region, and most units in the hill states have given across-the-board support to Sonia while condemning Sangma's move.

Out of the 24 Lok Sabha seats from the region, Assam accounts for 14, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh two each, while Nagaland and Mizoram have one each.In Assam, Sangma is not very well-known among the voters. In the other hill states, his face is identifiable but whether his image will help clinch votes remains to be seen. At best, he is unlikely to wean away more than four or five seats, according to a senior Congress leader.

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Pointed out a political analyst: 'Sangma should realise that even with the backing of the party he was not able to ensure the victory of the Congress candidate from the Shillong Lok Sabha seat every time (Shillong is one of the two Lok Sabha seats in his home state Meghalaya, the other being his own constituency, Tura). On what basis does he hope to have his own block of MPs like Sharad Pawar may have from Maharashtra?'.

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