Elections are no longer as much of a farce as they used to be in Nagaland, especially after the defeat of the Congress in the assembly elections in 2003 and the formation of a non-Congress government as a result of a marriage of convenience between a regional party, the NPF, and the BJP. The NPF, a moderate Naga nationalist formation, is a serious contender again, with a partial understanding and many ‘friendly contests’ with the BJP, hoping to garner sympathy from the dismissal of its government recently. The Congress is hoping to come back to power by combining genuine popular support with the usual Congress-style tricks. This election is not a referendum on the peace process, but a fair election would help convince younger Nagas that democratic politics is worth a try.

Meghalaya, a state that has never experienced any serious insurgency movement, represents the other end of the spectrum of political integration. If anything, the state is over-integrated into the routine ills of electoral politics in any small state: fragmented verdicts, horse-trading, corruption and instability have marked the state since its formation in 1972. Except the very first election, no party has won a majority of seats in the assembly. The Congress has usually emerged the largest party and has leveraged its Delhi connections to form usually unstable governments. The state’s once-powerful regional parties have fragmented in the last decade.

This time the Congress, that ran a minority government for the last five years with the help of smaller regional parties, is again the main contender. Up against it are its own regional allies like the UDP and MDP, accusing their partner of running a ‘corrupt government’! A more spirited challenge comes from the Congress’ national ally, the NCP – for all practical purposes a regional political outfit controlled by P.A. Sangma and now his two sons.

... contd.