SHILLONG — Congress leader Manuel Badwar has questioned what the BJP’s sudden rise to 10 MLAs in Meghalaya actually represents, arguing that a bigger Assembly strength is not the same thing as a bigger political organisation.
Badwar said the BJP’s expansion has largely come through leaders changing parties, rather than through the BJP building a strong organisation of its own across Meghalaya. He described the entry of eight UDP MLAs into the BJP as “inorganic”, and drew a direct comparison with the Trinamool Congress, which also expanded in Meghalaya through leaders switching sides.
“History will repeat itself very soon. We have seen what happened to the TMC in Meghalaya. They also grew inorganically, where the leaders just jumped ship, and I think the same thing will happen to the BJP,” Badwar said.
He also questioned how much of the political strength now counted as BJP strength was actually built by the party itself.
Several of the legislators who joined the BJP already had their own political base before entering the party, Badwar pointed out. The question, according to him, is whether that support will now transfer to the BJP organisation or remain tied to individual leaders.
The BJP’s strength increased from two to 10 after eight UDP MLAs joined the party on September 23, making it the second-largest party in the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly. Badwar said the enlarged BJP could also push for a bigger role in the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, including a possible demand for the Deputy Chief Minister’s post.
He identified Jaintia Hills as one area where the BJP could try to strengthen its organisation ahead of the 2028 Assembly election. But he said the party would have to show that its new numbers can be converted into an organisation capable of standing on its own.
Badwar also pointed to the issues carried by the eight former UDP MLAs into the BJP, including demands relating to Khasi and Garo language recognition, amendments to the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, coal mining and the Them Metor issue.
“The biggest opportunity is basically with the UDP members joining their bandwagon,” Badwar said, while questioning whether the BJP would be able to deliver on the commitments surrounding the move.
He further attacked the government over unemployment, higher education, healthcare and recruitment, pointing to concerns involving the police, health department, District Selection Committees and the Meghalaya Public Service Commission. Badwar said the BJP had earlier attempted statewide programmes and district-level expansion but had not succeeded in creating the kind of grassroots political organisation it was seeking.
That leaves Congress with an interesting line of attack: the party that once had to fight for political space is now questioning whether BJP’s new space has actually been built by BJP at all.
The BJP has the numbers. Badwar is questioning the roots.
