Mawshun/Shillong: Five years ago, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, the founder of the Voice of the People Party (VPP) that recently stunned established parties by winning the Shillong Lok Sabha seat, was contemplating quitting politics.
For Ardent, whose rise in Meghalaya on the back of his image as an anti-corruption crusader drew parallels with Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, it had been a tumultuous year.
First, he lost, by a margin of 76 votes in the 2018 Meghalaya election from Nongkrem which he had won in 2008 and 2013 as the candidate of UDP (United Democratic Party) and HSDP (Hill State People’s Democratic Party), respectively.
There was more humiliation in store for him. The only two MLAs of HSDP, which he was heading then, joined the coalition government led by the Conrad Sangma-led National People’s Party, against his wishes.
“I thought it was time to lead a private life. My own MLAs were not listening to me after all,” Ardent told ThePrint Wednesday, speaking at length at his residence in Laitkor, located amid sprawling farmland on the outskirts of Shillong city.
But after consultations with his family and close friends, Ardent decided to give politics one last shot. He called a public meeting on 6 February, 2020, at Shillong’s Student’s Field. “I wanted to see if people are interested in me staying on. To my utter surprise, thousands turned up.”
The turning point
A thrilled Ardent, who belongs to the numerically dominant Khasi tribe, launched the movement — ‘Iada ia Ka Ri‘ (Protect The Land) — at the rally. It was followed by the launch of the VPP on 19 November, 2021, following a delay that he attributes to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2024, VPP’s Ricky Andrew J. Syngkon registered a landslide victory from Shillong — one of the two Lok Sabha seats in Meghalaya — defeating his nearest rival, the state Congress chief and sitting MP Vincent Pala by over 3.7 lakh votes. The ruling NPP’s Ampareen Lyngdoh finished third, closely behind Pala.
The VPP led in as many as 24 assembly segments in the constituency. Its Lok Sabha triumph came after a year it bagged four of 18 seats it contested, including Ardent’s Nongkrem constituency, in the state election that threw up a hung verdict with the NPP as the single largest party with 26 seats in the 60-member assembly.
Subsequently, NPP’s Conrad Sangma secured another term in office as CM by getting parties including the UDP (12), the BJP (2), the HSDP (2), the PDF (2) and two Independent MLAs to support him.
The VPP remained out of the ruling alliance, just as it plans to do in the Lok Sabha, keeping the NDA at arm’s length.
“As believers in secularism, we are completely different from the BJP. Supporting the NDA is beyond our imagination. But we chose to stay neutral because the Congress, through its failures, paved the way for the BJP. But in case a situation arises where we need to support the INDIA bloc to oppose any decision by the BJP, we will do so,” Ardent said.
Student activist
The son of a government employee father and a homemaker mother, Ardent studied in a Presbyterian Church-run school and graduated in 1993 from Shillong’s St Anthony’s College, where he led a movement that compelled the authorities to recognise a students’ association “for the first time”.
After college, Ardent would take charge as the vice-president of the student’s wing of the Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), a pressure group. Later, as its president Ardent led movements against corruption, the sale of illicit liquor, demanded regulations for business activities by non-tribals, and also resolution of border disputes with Assam.
Even as he led these movements, Ardent, in his own words, started realising the limitations of pressure groups such as FKJGP. In 2002, he stepped down from the post of its president, and a year later, in 2003, contested his first assembly election as an Independent from Nongkrem.
Unlike Kejriwal, Ardent’s political debut came a cropper as he lost by a huge margin. Much like the AAP chief though, Ardent, now running a successful political start up, speaks about his political acumen in a self-deprecating manner.
“I realised politics was not my cup of tea. I don’t subscribe to traditional ways of doing politics. I educate people about the perils of misuse of money in politics,” Ardent, who became an MLA for the first time in 2008 contesting as a UDP candidate, said.
Soon enough, he would become disenchanted with the UDP. “Being in politics wasn’t enough. I wanted corruption-free politics so I launched a clean politics movement in 2009,” he said, adding with a laugh, “much before Kejriwal did”.
In contrast to Kejriwal, who, as an activist, became a household name for dissing politics and politicians of all hues, Ardent claims to have consistently held the belief that “political power is the only solution to most issues confronting us”.
“There is insecurity in the minds of people of Meghalaya today regarding jobs, economic opportunities, ownership of land. There is fear about their identity not being safeguarded. Blessed with natural resources, minerals, it could have been among the richest states but the root cause of its backwardness is corruption. It needs effective, decisive and strong leadership,” said Ardent.
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More than an anti-corruption crusader
But is it only the chimera of clean politics that fuelled the rise of Ardent and VPP? To look for an answer, one just needs to rewind and play the February 2020 ‘Protect The Land’ declaration made by Ardent, who had his back against the wall.
The themes aggressively outlined in that speech, from the implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) to the need for bringing Meghalaya under the ambit of Article 371, have also helped VPP carve out a space for itself in Meghalaya’s political battlefield crowded by several regional parties.
While some of these themes are on the agenda of the other regional players too, Ardent has sought to stand out by projecting a hardline image on issues of identity. Take for instance his walkout from the assembly in March last year opposing Governor Phagu Chauhan’s address in Hindi.
“May I inform the Governor that Meghalaya is not a Hindi-speaking state. I would also like to remind each one of us that the people and leaders of the state decided to part ways with Assam because the Assam government tried to impose Assamese as an official language. So sir, I feel that we should not allow this to become a tradition in this august house. The Governor should address us in the language we understand, sir. We condemn the Governor for addressing us in a language that we do not understand,” Ardent intervened.
Within hours, his speech went viral across social media platforms and WhatsApp. Such acts have helped him cement his image as someone who is uncompromising and incorruptible, particularly in the Khasi, Jaintia hills region.
It is another matter that days after the walkout, the VPP released its poll manifesto in three languages including Hindi.
Ardent has also courted controversies. In October last year, the Shillong Press Club issued a statement, demanding apology from him for “tragically insinuating that journalists in the state are succumbing to the paid news syndrome as elsewhere” and that “the media only covers VPP events to pinpoint and identify faults and lacunae in the party’s affairs”.
Many also question his administrative credentials. “The problem with Ardent is that he is a politician with an NGO mindset. That’s why his real test will be after the district council elections in which the VPP is set to do well. But then VPP will have to actually show that it can govern too,” said a veteran political editor who did not want to be named.
In 2014, Ardent had stepped down from the post of Chief Executive Member of Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council within six months of taking charge after four UDP executive members of the body questioned his style of functioning. He was with the HSPDP then.
Appeal among the youth
The VPP operates out of an office room at Ardent’s residence. “I don’t think we need a fancy building like other parties. Even when we become big. This is good enough,” says Nathaniel Mawria, among the young VPP volunteers who work closely with Ardent.
On Wednesday, as Ardent made a trip to Mawshun village, the site of a disputed land acquisition for the widening of National Highway 40, a group of youngsters including Nathaniel, Kitborlang Syiem, Pynskhem Hynniewta, and A Lyngdoh accompanied him.
They, along with locals, trekked with Ardent for hours inside the forest, located in the slope of the east Khasi hills district about 70 km away from Shillong, which will be sliced by the proposed highway.
Nearly all of them — from Nathaniel who became a college graduate a year ago, to Hynniewta, who helps his brother run a hardware shop — support Ardent as volunteers as and when they can, outside work hours, or by taking leaves.
“See, politics always attracted me. As a student, I liked the Congress but its state unit leaders are an uninspiring lot. But VPP offered a breath of fresh air, at least to me. He has stuck around for years but did not compromise. The party promises to change the system, get rid of corruption,” said Nathaniel, his thoughts echoing in the remarks made by others on what drew them to the VPP.
The scourge of corruption, these youngsters feel, are eating away the vitals of Meghalaya. They appear to show unflinching belief in Ardent’s words that VPP will “revive, restore and transform” the state.
At Mawshun village, which comes under the constituency of Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, locals lined up along the road to welcome Ardent. They threw a feast for him after he returned to the village after visiting the contested land acquisition site.
“The alignment of the proposed highway will cut through the forest and streams which serve as only sources of water for us. They can simply widen the existing highway instead of choosing that route through the forest. We don’t care about compensation, it’s about our land and water. No other leader other than Ardent is bothered,” said Konsilor Khongklian, a local resident, who retired as a school teacher.
Following the site visit, Ardent, sporting a round neck white T-shirt, grey jeans and sports shoes, addressed a packed public meeting inside a community hall in the village.
A hush descended as he took the microphone, promising to fight for the rights of the villagers and get them their due. Once he finished, the hall broke into a loud applause — “Im slem Ba Ardent” (Long live brother Ardent).
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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Mr. Roy Barman, instead of being a cheerleader for the VPP leader, please grill him on his xenophobic stance regarding non-tribal residents of Meghalaya. Kindly ask Mr. Ardent questions on his virulently anti migrant labour speeches.
Mr. Ardent and his party, the VPP, has been indulging in dog-whistle politics for long. Their xenophobia vis-a-vis non-tribals residing or working in the state of Meghalaya is there for all to see. What is absolutely shameful is that they are so open and blatant in their hatred and contempt of non-tribals.
They are acting hand in glove with other xenophobic “pressure groups” like the KSU, FKJGP, etc.
The Print chooses not to report on such issues. The selective silence as well as outrage over issues speaks quite clearly as to how de-hyphenated the journalism actually is.
Mr. Roy Barman would do well to act like a journalist and leave the cheerleading act to sycophants.