Many of the old electorates agreed that the response to the district council elections have been very lethargic this time. Barring a few constituencies, there is huge number of electorates who are not sure with the date of the elections and even not aware of the candidates in the fray.
This clearly showed the lack of interest on the part of the people. Endorsing the sudden decline of people interest on the district councils election in the state scheduled on February 10 in Khasi Jaintia Hills and February 13 in Garo Hills, a Reader in the department of Political Science, North Eastern Hill University Prof P.Malngiang said today, “When the district council primary function to protect the culture, traditions and customs of the tribal of the people has been overshadowed by political fights for power and unscrupulous manipulations in appointing and removing traditional heads, people loosing interest in the council and the elections are bound to happen."
Malngiang even pointed out that the political parties does not have any new and big issues in their manifestoes to attract the peoples' interest in the elections, a point even the common layman agreed. Borsingh Shylla , a resident of Phlangkynshi said, “District council in its present stage has proved to be irrelevant to the interest of the tribal populace”, adding, “Grabbing power for personal benefits and not the interest of the tribal people is the motive of those elected in the past ten years”.
Such doubts assumed significance in view of the constant change of guards in the three district councils of the state. In the past five years, there were three changes of guard in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, four in the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and another three in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council. All emanated from the realignment of different political parties that was guided by their own political convenience.
Commenting further on the frequent change of power in the three district councils in the state, the former Advocate General of the state W.H.D.Syngkon, "This alienates the peoples' trust from the district councils”.
“I can say that the district councils have failed to live up to the aspirations of the people”, stated Syngkon , even as he attributes to the dynamics of modern economy and other allied aspects as other factors for the lackadaisical election campaign. Syngkon was however straight in stating that if the district councils have to live up to peoples' expectation, the elected members should know the Sixth Scheduled and to dissuade them from unwanted dirty politics that has made the electorates estranged from the institution established by the Constitution of India.
Meanwhile, barring three in Jaintia Hills, two in Khasi Hills and another three in Garo Hills the campaigning process continue to be cold in all the seven districts of Meghalaya. Shillong : Meghalaya District Council’s poor delivery system is the main reason for the low key election campaign to the three autonomous district councils in the state. Elections to the Khasi and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council is scheduled in seven days from today and the electioneering process to the Garo Hills autonomous district council is barely ten days, but the campaigning has been on a low key.
Many of the old electorates agreed that the response to the district council elections have been very lethargic this time. Barring a few constituencies, there is huge number of electorates who are not sure with the date of the elections and even not aware of the candidates in the fray.
This clearly showed the lack of interest on the part of the people. Endorsing the sudden decline of people interest on the district councils election in the state scheduled on February 10 in Khasi Jaintia Hills and February 13 in Garo Hills, a Reader in the department of Political Science, North Eastern Hill University Prof P.Malngiang said today, “When the district council primary function to protect the culture, traditions and customs of the tribal of the people has been overshadowed by political fights for power and unscrupulous manipulations in appointing and removing traditional heads, people loosing interest in the council and the elections are bound to happen."
Malngiang even pointed out that the political parties does not have any new and big issues in their manifestoes to attract the peoples' interest in the elections, a point even the common layman agreed. Borsingh Shylla , a resident of Phlangkynshi said, “District council in its present stage has proved to be irrelevant to the interest of the tribal populace”, adding, “Grabbing power for personal benefits and not the interest of the tribal people is the motive of those elected in the past ten years”.
Such doubts assumed significance in view of the constant change of guards in the three district councils of the state. In the past five years, there were three changes of guard in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, four in the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and another three in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council. All emanated from the realignment of different political parties that was guided by their own political convenience.
Commenting further on the frequent change of power in the three district councils in the state, the former Advocate General of the state W.H.D.Syngkon, "This alienates the peoples' trust from the district councils”.
“I can say that the district councils have failed to live up to the aspirations of the people”, stated Syngkon , even as he attributes to the dynamics of modern economy and other allied aspects as other factors for the lackadaisical election campaign. Syngkon was however straight in stating that if the district councils have to live up to peoples' expectation, the elected members should know the Sixth Scheduled and to dissuade them from unwanted dirty politics that has made the electorates estranged from the institution established by the Constitution of India.
Meanwhile, barring three in Jaintia Hills, two in Khasi Hills and another three in Garo Hills the campaigning process continue to be cold in all the seven districts of Meghalaya.
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