Shillong, October 11: When music and electioneering go hand in hand, the campaign trail can turn into a celebration, with people dancing, laughing and humming to the rhythm, asking for neither money nor food, but offering their support out of affection. That was the scene at the Voice of the People’s Party (VPP) campaign rally at Polo Ground in Shillong, where more than 10,000 people reportedly gathered in support of party candidate Dr Batskhem Myrboh for the Shillong Lok Sabha by-election. Amid the music, dance and political slogans, the party collected ₹3.07 lakh through crowdfunding, placing the spotlight on a campaign it says is driven by public support rather than financial inducements.
VPP president and Nongkrem legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said the party had deliberately chosen a different approach to political mobilisation, insisting that supporters were neither paid to attend meetings nor provided food. “It is a party with a difference for which we are not going to provide money to the people to attend our meetings, we are not going to arrange food for the supporters,” he said. Pointing to the turnout as a sign of public confidence, he added, “The people still trust the voice of the people’s party and we are sure that with this kind of support that we are getting from our people we will definately with the by-election.”
Candidate Dr Batskhem Myrboh said political parties should earn public support through issues, credibility and connection with voters rather than financial inducements. “In a truly democratic system, in a truly democratic quality it is very wrong for any political party to bribe the voters,” he said, arguing that parties should seek support “on the basis of issues, on the basis of confidence, on the basis of connection with the people not on the because we are capable to buy the voters of the people.” He said the VPP intended to carry this approach into the 2028 Meghalaya Assembly elections and expressed confidence in the by-election, stating, “We as a party we are very confident of winning the election, 100 percent to win handsomely.”
Responding to questions about the National People’s Party’s (NPP) presence on the ground, Myrboh distinguished between mobilisation driven by party machinery and public enthusiasm. “There is a diffence between the wave create d by the party, and the wave of the VPP is the wave created by the people,” he said. He also identified clean politics and good governance as central to the party’s agenda, adding, “VPP believes in the principal of good governance and clean politics and this is the strength of the party.” For the VPP, the Polo rally offered a stage where music, mass mobilisation and crowdfunding converged. Whether the energy of the gathering translates into votes will be decided by the electorate at the ballot box.
