KAM Meghalaya candidate for East Shillong, Wanpynhun Kharsyntiew, who filed her nomination papers yesterday for the upcoming February 27 Assembly polls, said that there are political forces that are trying to control the people of her constituency in egregious ways.
Without specifically mentioning who, Kharsyntiew, a former domestic worker and first-time MLA candidate, told reporters, “They are trying to control the people in a sense that by helping them (with funds, etc) they are not letting them be free to participate in the other platforms, to listen to other candidates, to participate in other political meetings. This is happening in my constituency.”
The largesse of politicians, either through illicit financial handouts or through the grey area of using MLA funds in giveaways for their constituents just before a vote, has been in focus this election season, with KAM Meghalaya one of the voices against the practice.
If members of the public want these handouts, they feel compelled to toe a certain political line and not give other candidates, such as herself, a chance, Kharsyntiew said.
For KAM and Kharsyntiew (who like her two other comrades are running as independents as KAM is not a registered political party) in general, one of their main planks is unemployment in both the organised and unorganised sectors.
“We are in a situation now where we are in need of an employment policy which will bring hope for the younger generation because everything is now getting commercialised,” she said. “From health, to education, everything is getting commercialized and when you have spent so much to educate your children with no hope of getting a job it’s really a hopeless future for the youth.”
