Amid growing national concern over alleged electoral malpractices, the Meghalaya Congress has called for empowering traditional local institutions — the Durbar Shnongs — to play a greater role in voter verification, asserting that such empowerment is vital to prevent infiltration and strengthen the integrity of the state’s electoral process. Aligning with its nationwide campaign to defend democratic institutions, the Congress has intensified its state-wide signature drive under the All India Congress initiative to collect five crore signatures across the country. The movement, which has already garnered over 10,000 signatures in Meghalaya, aims to mobilize public support against what the party terms systematic “vote chori” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the alleged complicity of the Election Commission.
Meghalaya Congress Secretary Manuel Badwar said, “We stay vigilant in each and every constituency, if you want to support please support us with a signature campaign at each and every block, every district—our workers are there.” He noted that while Durbar Shnongs are integral to Meghalaya’s traditional governance structure, their authority in voter registration remains unrecognized under the current framework.
“Till now you have seen for the registration of new voters the Durbar Shnong or the power of the Durbar is still not recognized because under what is given to us the rules and regulations it is still saying Panchayati Raj. Since we don’t have a Panchayati Raj, we told the Election Department that we have to give more power to the Durbar. This is being followed by Congress and other political parties. We have given our suggestions and we hope the Election Commission of Meghalaya takes it forward. At least this will ensure infiltration and voters who are not eligible to be voters should not be able to vote,” he said.
Badwar said the Congress’s signature campaign is an effort to safeguard India’s democratic fabric and to bring citizens into a constructive national dialogue on electoral fairness. He alleged that the BJP has engaged in widespread vote rigging across several states, including Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra, claiming that “the BJP and the Election Commission are involved in vote chori to favour the ruling party.”
Further, the Congress seeks to transform this campaign into a political movement — one that not only challenges the legitimacy of the ruling dispensation but also underscores the need for institutional reform and grassroots empowerment through recognition of traditional local bodies like the Durbar Shnongs.
