Shillong, June 3: What Kejriwal is to Delhi, Ardent appears to be for Shillong. The two may never have crossed political paths, but their style of campaign and mobilization of support is staggeringly similar.

Giving a shake up to main stream parties like the NPP and the Congress, the nascent Voice of the People’s Party led by Ardent Basaiawmoit stormed into Meghalaya politics by winning 4 seats in the 2023 assembly polls- two more than the biggest political party in the world- the BJP.

The VPP’s message of connecting with the common man on the street- a similarity with that of AAP in Delhi, resonated across the Khasi Hills region and opened up a new chapter in state politics.

On the eve of the vote count for the Lok Sabha polls, the stacks are heavily laden on the side of the VPP.

From all indications on the ground, post poll assessment, it seems to be a direct contest between Ardent’s team and Vincent Pala of the Congress.

The NPP could at best settle for a distant third as the VPP eats into its votes.

“No one in the political arena ever thought a new party with little or no resources could make an impact, until VPP arrived, ” says a political observer.

Playing the Hynniewtrep card to the fullest- the VPP has projected itself as the “saviour” of the community when it comes to political patronage, a similar pattern to what was played out in the Garo Hills by the Garo National Council in the mid 1990s under Late Clifford Marak.

This “knight in shining armor” tag has paid rich dividends if ground reports are to be believed.

Ardent’s party is projected to sweep East Khasi Hills district and a substantial part of West Khasi Hills, but not so much of Jaintia Hills where the Congress and the NPP have faced off in this elections.

South West Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi are said to be areas where all major players have had a finger in the pie.

And that’s where the interesting story emerges. Unlike the VPP or the NPP, the Congress has held on to its pocket burrows in almost all regions of the Khasi Jaintia hills.

“Congress may not be a major player in Shillong, but unlike the others, we have votes in every constituency and region. When you tally the numbers it comes to a substantial figure that can sail us through,” says Congress workers, unless Ardent and the VPP stands in their way, which is something no one is ruling out at this juncture.

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