From Pioneers to Progress: Conrad on NEDA's Impact & Future of Northeastern Politics

During a session at Conclave 2024, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma addressed questions from Sadin Pratidin Group Director Rishi Baruah regarding the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) and his political legacy.

When asked about the formation of NEDA in 2016 as an alliance for cooperation among the Northeastern states, Sangma stated, “15 to 20 years back, late PA Sangma, Pawan Kumar Chamlin, Zoramthanga, and Neiphiu Rio had floated the idea of NEDA and they in fact tried to come together as it is important for the region. It's not an idea which came in just recently; it’s been an idea that has been floating around for a very long time.” He emphasized that despite internal differences, “there is a larger picture of Northeast which matters.”

Sangma acknowledged that while NEDA has formalized connections with the national government, the effectiveness of the organization remains a concern. “To be frank, we have not been able to push the objective of NEDA in the right direction. We meet once in a while and give a lot of speeches and everything, but I think in critical times, NEDA leaders should meet, should discuss and take the objectives of NEDA forward, which is really to represent the people of Northeast and take up issues of the Northeast that are common to all,” he added.

Sangma also addressed the party's performance in Manipur, Meghalaya, and Nagaland and the potential for greater engagement in Assam. He noted, “Assam is a much larger and complicated state, and many factors are involved in that; therefore, we need to plan in a much better manner.” He continued, “In politics, timing is very important. We will need to see the correct timing so that we can see the correct positioning of different factors and then move in.”

Reflecting on the party's past electoral experience, he stated, “In Manipur in the year 2017, I was not the chief minister then; I had just taken over the party. We got four MLAs there, the UPA block had roughly 28 MLAs, the NDA block had 28 MLAs, and NPP had 4 MLAs. Where the NPP would have gone, the government would have formed; hence the timing was such that NPP played a crucial role.” In the 2022 elections, Sangma shared that the NPP secured close to 17% of votes and seven MLAs, but emphasized the importance of timing in government formation.

Discussing his political legacy, Sangma spoke about his late father, PA Sangma, who served as a prominent politician, including as the fourth Chief Minister of Meghalaya and Speaker of the Lok Sabha. “There are both sides to it,” he noted. “The first side is, of course, I was in public life at a very young age and exposed to a lot of public lives, simple aspects of meeting people and greeting people.” He acknowledged the positives of having PA Sangma as a mentor: “Those aspects were very positive for me as an individual, and also from the political thought process he is very important because he put in the basic ideas and beliefs that I have today in politics.”

However, Sangma also recognized the challenges that come with a political legacy. “The negative side was the pressure and the expectations, which are the difficult sides as you are frequently compared,” he stated. “I am nowhere close to how late PA Sangma was, his different charisma and qualities he had, and those challenges will always be there. We will have to take from both angles and keep focusing on the work that we do and take it forward.”

Also Read: NPP Expands Its Presence in NE, Says Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma at Conclave 2024