With the term of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council nearing its end, the Meghalaya government has begun internal preparations for the upcoming elections, even as key decisions are yet to be formally taken. Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday indicated that the process is at a preliminary stage, with a cabinet memo currently under preparation and the issue likely to be placed before the next cabinet meeting. However, he made it clear that no date has been fixed so far for the GHADC elections.
Addressing queries on the matter, the Chief Minister said, “No the Date for elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council has not been announced, it’s not decided yet. Infact, the cabinet memo is being prepared may be we will take it up in the next cabinet meeting.” His remarks come amid growing political attention on the GHADC polls, which are widely seen as crucial in the Garo Hills region.
On the contentious issue of draft electoral rolls reportedly including non-tribal voters, Sangma said the matter was not new and has historical roots. He explained that such entries have existed for decades and cannot be viewed in isolation. “It is there in the past, it’s from 1952 the electoral rolls which includes non tribal voters has been there,” the Chief Minister said.
Emphasising the sensitivity of the issue, Sangma stressed the need for broad-based consultation before any major decision is taken.
“This is definitely a matter that is obviously discussed in the past, its an issue that requires large and wide scale discussion and engagement with the people, bring people together and then in a concenses manner take a call in this,” he stated.
The Chief Minister further pointed out that with elections approaching, the government has chosen to proceed with the existing rolls for now, while leaving scope for deeper deliberation in the future. “Therefore as I said the elections are round the corner therefore we went ahead with the existing electoral rolls that are there but at a larger scale it requires a lot of discussion debate and building concenses and once we engage then only we will be taken a call,” Sangma added.
