Votes have yet to be cast and debates continue among the general public as to which party will emerge winners in the KHADC and JHADC elections on February 21 but one thing is for certain – both autonomous district councils will be dominated by men.
In all, there are just 19 women candidates spread across the 59 seats. Twelve are running to be MDCs in the 30 seats of the Khasi Hills ADC and just seven in the 29 seats of the Jaintia Hills ADC.
It should come as no surprise to anyone today that, despite the local tribes’ matrilineal traditions, politics is still the man’s domain in Meghalaya, whether that be in the State Assembly, the ADCs or the neighbourhood and village dorbars.
Parsing the list of candidates in 2025 also turns up some other points of interest.
Every seat has a number of candidates to choose from, except, that is, Moodop-Umladang in the JHADC where there are just two vying for the election – the incumbent JHADC chief Thombor Shiwat of the National People’s Party (NPP) and the Voice of the People Party (VPP) challenger Chanbor Rymbai.
The most crowded seats in the JHADC race are Muthlong-Sohkymphor and Narpuh, with six candidates each.
In the KHADC, Nongkrem has the fewest contenders at just three, while, at the other end, Mawshynrut, Mawkhar-Pynthorumkhrah, Mawsynram and Mawkynrew all have seven each.
There also seems to be something of a trend in established politicians running as independents. Moonlight Pariat, once CEM of the JHADC, is one such case. In the KHADC this is seen in George Lyngdoh, former MLA of Umroi; Process Sawkmie, former MLA of Mawlai; Teiborlang Pathaw, incumbent MDC of Mawlai; and Lambor Malngiang, former MLA of Nongkrem. This may be a way of unhitching themselves from unpopular mainstream parties in the face of the anti-establishment VPP.
There are also several journalists in the fray with former executive editor of Highland Post, John Thabah in Sohra, and former senior journalist at HP’s sister paper Mawphor, Powell Sohkhlet, in Pariong-Mawthadraishan, Meghalaya Editors and Publishers Association president Monarch Shabong in Nongshken and journalist Starfing JL Pdahkasiej in Mawsynram.
