Did Mendipathar just witness Meghalaya’s biggest election rally?

Resubelpara: Come March 2, Meghalaya’s electoral fate will be decided along with that of Nagaland and Tripura. But regardless of which party emerges at the top (or the bottom), there is a strong case for arguing that the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), in the months leading up to the meeting held at the Dilma Apal playground in the Mendipathar constituency, has provided the state with some of the biggest gatherings.

It raised the bar again during the recent meeting of AITC general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee, where, according to reports, more than 30,000 people came to listen to the youth leader.

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It is not as if people are not interested in listening to other leaders, or that only Mendipathar has people who take a keen interest in politics. One of the principal reasons for the lack of crowds can simply be that the region hardly has huge fields where people can be brought together. 

This has generally led to small gatherings, numbering just a few thousand. Dilma, however, is a different story: it has enough space to accommodate more than 30,000 people, as long as the arrangements are right.

And this is where the Trinamool rally organisers can give themselves a pat on the back: not only did they accommodate 30,000 at the meeting, but at least 20,000 that did not get seating continued to stay beside the stage to listen to the AITC supremo Mamata Banerjee, her nephew, Abhishek former CM Mukul Sangma and state AITC Meghalaya president Charles Pyngrope.

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Mamata’s entry into the stage was another story altogether. After her chopper landed near the Mendipathar Bazaar area, she reached the stage along with the coterie at about 1 PM via road. Upon seeing the Wangala dance welcome, she immediately approached one of the drummers and tried her hand at the ‘Dama’. After that, she did her best to replicate the dancers before reaching the stage and greeting everyone she saw on stage.

‘Didi’, in her speech, continued her tirade against what she called a ‘failed government’ in her elements drawing the crowds to chant to her tune.

“We are not someone who makes promises that we can’t keep, unlike others. I am in politics not to make money but because of my passion. I chose to serve the people and you can see how we have transformed Bengal with our vision,” she stated, adding that she wanted to stay in Garo Hills after the elections to learn the language.

Asking the crowd whether they wanted to change, Mamata got the crowd on its feet seeking voices of unison in her appeal. The entire stage reverberated with the call.

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Abhishek during his speech lambasted the NPP-led government calling for an overthrow of the double-engine system where he accused the BJP of running a proxy government through the NPP and its allies. He also called for their ouster for the various allegations of corruption.

“Every sector in Meghalaya is in absolute shambles. Education, health infrastructure, employment: anything you name and this is because orders are being taken from the ivory towers of New Delhi or Guwahati. We will ensure that this situation changes and the state is ruled by ‘Sons of the soil’,” he stated.

Mukul Sangma promised the crowd that every paisa that is meant for the development of the state would be accounted for once they return to power while Charles lamented the fact that the state that is known as the ‘abode of clouds’ has now turned into a haven of corruption.

However, the sheer crowd numbers at the venue left most residents completely awed. 

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“We have never seen such a huge crowd come for a political rally in our constituency and the numbers were mind-boggling. We were amazed to see people still walking to the venue in the hundreds even when the meeting was almost halfway done,” said a resident who lives just by the side of the playground.

Business was brisk, with food stalls emptying even before prepared food came out of the kitchen to the table. Some, however, regretted not setting up stalls as profits were guaranteed due to the sheer number of people that came. Stalls ran out of stock quickly, with boiled eggs being the only thing that remained for people to fill their stomachs with.

“I wish I had set up a stall with enough provisions as the crowd was unbelievable. I would have definitely made a windfall from feeding those hungry at the program,” added another local, promising to not make the same mistake again.

Another took the pragmatic approach to the crowds and the fervour in the AITC over the huge crowd presence.

“This is possibly as big a crowd as that which came to see PM, Narendra Modi during his election rally in the village of Shyamnagar near Phulbari. However, despite the numbers, the BJP could not make a dent and the party won zero seats in 2018 from Garo Hills. The AITC will take heart from the numbers, but should not count this as support for their cause. If the crowd numbers translated into popular votes, the AITC will win an absolute majority. I am sure they have a lot of hard work in front of them to ensure the crowds actually do translate into numbers,” felt another resident.

Interestingly, the meeting was held in the constituency of the former AITC MLA, Marthon J Sangma, who switched camps to join the NPP. He is pitted against AITC’s Pardinand D Shira, UDP’s Subroto Marak, Congress’ Timjim Momin and the yet-to-be-announced BJP candidate.

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