September 9, 2007 - Thimphu: The former finance minister, Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu, is currently touring his constituency in Trashigang. People of Shongphu, Bidung and Bartsham gave him a warm welcome. They listened to him and many went home happy that their constituency would be well represented in Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu.

But what could have possibly stunned the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa’s strongman was his visit to the Yangneer geog of the constituency. People there reportedly boycotted his visit. The former finance minister returned to his base without seeing a single face and had to go back the next day after people in the geog were mobilized.

Rinzin Dorji of Trashigang, who claims non-alignment to both the parties, called this a deliberate sabotage. He was concerned with what happened in Yangneer. And then he called up BT.

“What I don’t understand is why did the people of Yangneer decided to remain indoors when a political candidate was coming for an introduction?” he said. “Who could have instigated them?”

Are our communities falling apart in the heat of political developments taking place in the country? Is party politics fracturing our families and communities? Is party politics undermining our traditional family structure? Will this all lead to a gradual cultural demoralization in the country?

These are the questions people posed to BT in course of its extensive interaction with people from all walks of life from across the kingdom.

‘Manipulation of ignorance’ is the latest phrase coined by the observers. And this has a barbed connotation to what people had envisioned as a ‘unique Bhutanese democracy.’

Most people point fingers at over-zealous party workers who are reportedly resorting to unethical and undemocratic means in swaying people’s heart and manipulating them to support one particular party.

Chapcha, under Chukha dzongkhag, this week saw major division in the community when party workers from the two existing parties went around damaging each other’s image. A party worker who BT talked to said that the community had almost turned into a “Roman mob”.

“If there is no intervention to what is actually happening at the moment there could be blood in the scene,” he said. “I have changed my opinion of politics from what I witnessed in Chapcha.”

A National Assembly aspirant was recently in one of the geogs in Trashiyangtse. It so happened that a party had just held a meeting with the people there. And when this aspirant belonging to the other party made it to the village, the people there mocked his party and him.

“The party workers from the other party had convinced the people there that if they wanted to attend my meeting I should be paying them an hourly wage,” he said. “But somehow we arranged the meeting. It wasn’t the best of experience I had ever since I started my familiarization tour.”

Many Bhutanese today are preoccupied with politics since it involves a collective future. That is why it comes as a bad shock when people hear that villages are fast getting polarized.

“The idyll is over,” said another party candidate. “The communal harmony we saw just yesterday is shattering fast. I have been having sleepless nights ever since I declared my intention to run for the party.”

Can Bhutan, given its small population, afford to have polarized factions for the sake of party politics?

“The answer is a screaming ‘No’,” said a local political analyst. “Polarization will undo our close-knit society. And this is one thing our political parties must be mindful of when they go vote mongering.”

Part 2:

Observers and analysts point out that people back in the villages are the ones who have held the social fabric together for centuries. “They are the ones who have kept our traditional family structure intact. They are the ones who have selflessly upheld the sacred covenant of the basic social capital and trust required to bind our communities together,” said a Thimphu resident.

In fact, Bhutan has always had a very strong communal harmony. Community participation in times of death, birth, and festivals has held people as an extended family. And this harmony has been reflected at the national level where same tenets of togetherness and oneness binds the country to its people.

However, given the fierce mudslinging that has already begun between the two existing parties, people are beginning to question if this social harmony will not fall apart.

“It is a shame and I have failed to understand why parties are doing it,” said a man from Sarpang. “Because, at the end of the day, we all are one people. All we are asking of this change is that we be kept us one for ever.”

Galing in Trashigang stands a classic example of political fracture. In a community where everybody is related to everybody, the two cousins standing from two parties have ended that old romance for all Galingpas. People are not just fast forming factions of support but are also getting emotionally divided.

Galingpas are finding it hard to believe that party politics is undoing an age-old ligature. “Politics is dividing parents and children, brothers and sisters, uncles and cousins, and creating a rift that is only here to stay until we are more matured to understand the nuances of politics,” said a Galingpa in Thimphu.

“Why should, otherwise, people of certain villages be barred from meeting a candidate who will probably be their representative for the next five years? Why should our people already decide which party to support without actually understanding what that party can do or their welfare?” asked Rinzin Dorji of Trashigang.

Rinzin Dorji strongly feels that the dzongkhag administration and the dzongkhag election office should monitor all these familiarization tours and ensure that parties don’t sling mud at each other and that all aspirants, irrespective of what party they belong to, are able to meet people in all the geogs in their constituency.

“People should interact with all possible candidates. This will help them to make the right choice when they cast their vote,” he said. “Because, who ever wins the elections next year will work for the common good of the people.”

On the other hand, Lyonpo Jigmi Y. Thinley, who is also touring the eastern dzongkhags, was given a roaring reception in Trashigang town. About 400 town residents gathered to listen to the minister and reportedly shed tears when Lyonpo explained the party logo.

Have the people of Trashigang town then decided to support Druk Phuensum Tshogpa? A businessman from Samkhar, who called BT to report on the meeting, said that it should not be the case.

“Next time when we have the PDP president, Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup, coming here I would urge all people to listen to him as well. This is the only way we can understand the parties better,” he said.

Another candidate came back to Thimphu slightly shaken by the attitude of the people in his constituency in Trashigang. He told BT that he was being followed in all the geogs he visited. “I felt insecure touring the villages alone. I am certainly not going there alone in future. People seem to be up for anything now,” he said.

Tim Fischer, a former Australian politician and deputy prime minister, said that parties should strictly adhere to the campaign code of conduct, and that there should be an unspoken understanding among the parties not to slur each other’s image.

This code of conduct could be used to monitor the ligature of interaction amongst the parties.