The Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee naturally made a big deal of the return of Zenith M Sangma to its ranks after his four-year self-imposed exile in the Trinamool Congress.
After so many defections and poor performances in state and district council elections, the Congress Party in Meghalaya needed some good news and this was it.
The great joy at Zenith’s reentry, however, is less to do with him than what it may signal for the rest of his family. After all, though he is a former cabinet minister, he holds no elected office at the moment. However, his wife is an MDC, while his brother (Mukul Sangma) and niece are MLAs. Rope them all in and the Congress really will have something to shout about.
On his own, Zenith is not much of a catch. He entered the cabinet riding on his brother’s coattails and, while the perception may be inaccurate, he appeared in public to be haughty and less able to connect with the people than Mukul, who was, after all, Chief Minister.
It seems to be a case of Mukul testing the waters by getting Zenith to rejoin the Congress. As a TMC member out of office, the pathway to his reentry was less troublesome. But the bigger question is how would Mukul be reintegrated into a Congress Party where he has bitter rivals?
There is no love lost between the former CM and the current MP for Tura, Saleng Sangma. In fact it was Mukul’s defection to the TMC that paved the way for Saleng to rejoin the Congress in 2023. At the time Saleng labelled Mukul a “coward” and blamed him for getting pushed out of the Congress. Even now, Saleng does not seem too keen on a Mukul return. Another obstacle could be the MPCC president Vincent Pala. The rise of Pala, then Shillong MP but now also out of office, in the MPCC was one of the reasons for Mukul’s departure. Can they let bygones be bygones and get along?
There may be no other way. The TMC has failed to make an impact in Meghalaya and the Congress has been flailing around ever since Mukul’s departure. The ruling National People’s Party is entrenched in positions of power while the upstart Voice of the People Party is positioning itself to be the next to grab the reins. If the Congress is to be relevant to Meghalaya again it needs to get its house in order.
That being said, it must be disappointing for any true believer in the Congress to see the red carpet being laid out for the turncoats as they turn back towards the party. Where is the verve, the grassroots organisation, the youthful leadership that should be taking the Congress forwards? The VPP has set itself apart by fielding – by and large – new faces untainted by politics. But here is the Congress going back to the well. Zenith and co are not old wine in new bottles. They’re just old wine in old bottles. Whether they are still palatable to the public is yet to be seen.
