In the office of the NCP at Tura, party working president Bibhash Das explains the finer points of the Sangmas’ exploits at the polling booth: “Purno dada and his family are the only people here who can win both the tribal and non-tribal vote. There are 12,000 non-tribal votes here. And then there are also the issues of clan and religion. The Sangmas fit in everywhere.” In the midst of all the praise, though, there is a normally unseen streak of apprehension among some. “Don’t ask me about politics,” says a non-Garo businessman who runs one of the oldest business houses in Tura. “One word against either side and someone will burn my shop. The tribal non-tribal divide here can be serious.”
At the 73-year-old Sacred Heart Church where the Sangmas attend mass “whenever they’re there”, Fr Jimbert Marak describes Purno Agitok as a man who “never misses church and one who, given his sincerity towards his religion, would be sincere in his politics”. “You are a man of God, reverend, you speak from the pulpit…,” we coax him, “Tell us the negatives that no one else will. It can’t all be good…” And we have it: “Purno Sangma really knows how to connect with people but can be very dominating and always wants to be master. He needs to check that.” James, he says, is “friendly and simple but has a lot to learn” while Conrad “has knowledge and ideas but must think more”. And Agatha? “Nothing negative about her comes to my mind,” the reverend insists.
At her office at Delhi’s Nirman Bhavan, Agatha, the latest in the Sangma lineage to be minister, is “still learning the ropes”. As for the “no negatives” comment from the reverend, “that must have been a priest I bribed”, jests the youngest minister in Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. Crusades, though, political or otherwise, aren’t fought with kindness. Agatha, the youngest of the Sangma siblings, has her own take on what Fr Marak has to say about her father: “As a leader, one must be assertive and know where he is going. That’s what it’s about.”
In his long political life, Sangma senior has taken his battle much beyond West Garo Hills. The battle at Delhi’s Raisina Hill may not have been so successful with him laying siege at Sonia Gandhi’s fortress with the foreign national issue, but there are other places where he takes on his adversaries, the latest being Jharkhand where he strategises with his lieutenants on how to secure winning votes. But walking the corridors of power is just one part of political victory. There is another, one that is more personal. “This time, the porter at Howrah refused to take money saying ‘aap ne desh ke liye itna kiya hain’,” he says. Back in the hills of Tura, meanwhile, the wind still sings Sangma.
At the 73-year-old Sacred Heart Church where the Sangmas attend mass “whenever they’re there”, Fr Jimbert Marak describes Purno Agitok as a man who “never misses church and one who, given his sincerity towards his religion, would be sincere in his politics”. “You are a man of God, reverend, you speak from the pulpit…,” we coax him, “Tell us the negatives that no one else will. It can’t all be good…” And we have it: “Purno Sangma really knows how to connect with people but can be very dominating and always wants to be master. He needs to check that.” James, he says, is “friendly and simple but has a lot to learn” while Conrad “has knowledge and ideas but must think more”. And Agatha? “Nothing negative about her comes to my mind,” the reverend insists.
At her office at Delhi’s Nirman Bhavan, Agatha, the latest in the Sangma lineage to be minister, is “still learning the ropes”. As for the “no negatives” comment from the reverend, “that must have been a priest I bribed”, jests the youngest minister in Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. Crusades, though, political or otherwise, aren’t fought with kindness. Agatha, the youngest of the Sangma siblings, has her own take on what Fr Marak has to say about her father: “As a leader, one must be assertive and know where he is going. That’s what it’s about.”
In his long political life, Sangma senior has taken his battle much beyond West Garo Hills. The battle at Delhi’s Raisina Hill may not have been so successful with him laying siege at Sonia Gandhi’s fortress with the foreign national issue, but there are other places where he takes on his adversaries, the latest being Jharkhand where he strategises with his lieutenants on how to secure winning votes. But walking the corridors of power is just one part of political victory. There is another, one that is more personal. “This time, the porter at Howrah refused to take money saying ‘aap ne desh ke liye itna kiya hain’,” he says. Back in the hills of Tura, meanwhile, the wind still sings Sangma.
