February 23, 1998

Tura Meghalaya
Electorate: 4.1 lakh
Main Rival: Enila Shira (BJP)

Here's P.A. Sangma's list of what a candidate needs to contest elections: workers, money and six vests. When he arrived in Tura, he had everything except the vests. So his campaign, effectively, started at a hosiery store. No sweat.

This is typical Sangma, a refreshing, unaffected man. "People know too much about you for you to pretend," he says.

So will Sangma -- elected to the Lok Sabha every time since 1977 except for 1989 when he didn't contest -- make the most of his creditable performance as Lok Sabha Speaker? Of course. "Now you have at least one leader from the North-east who has national stature," he keeps saying. At every meeting he says he wants a lobby of North-east MPs in Delhi which he could lead. And a stable Congress government. But after a while he admits his speeches can be boring. His aviator-style Italian sunglasses, that hide him sleeping, bail him out. By lunch time, beer on the table, he's happier. "I don't drink in the bathroom," he says. "My friends know it, my electorate knows it, my cheeks show it." He breaks into a cherubic laugh, of a man who knows he's going to win.

-- Avirook Sen

Back to Carnival

Write to us | Subscriptions

© Living Media India Ltd