A look at election 2017 in Manipur

Dr Mohammad Imtiyaj Khan *

Polling for Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats in Manipur in January 2016 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Assembly elections in 2017 in Manipur are going to be an interesting spectacle. Our mad rush towards money and power will be playing out once again in due course. ‘Modiotic’ wave of 2014 has receded but in Manipur, it appears that the so-called anti-incumbency wave is building up. In the run up to the Lok Sabha elections 2014, it was apparent that voters did not have much choice other than Mr Narendra Modi as India’s new PM, thanks to the cyber cell of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the PM-hopeful’s oratory skills (often marked by historical & factual inaccuracies). Any keen observer would have, by now, realised that in 2017, Manipur also will have a similar situation of electoral battle fuelled by anti-incumbency.

Some misguided and incomprehensible minds have already aligned themselves with BJP expecting that the party may groom them to be politicians. These rookies have forgotten that politics is no alchemy in which one can transform a metal to gold. In politics, the players need to identify and associate themselves with social issues for level playing field to sustain.

Politically wrong judgement

In Manipur, there are very few politicians who actually are fit to be called as true politicians. These politicians do atleast something through political means in Manipur’s interest and today we are here. The individuals who show up every election time and consider themselves as social workers or politicians are doing a great disservice to Manipur’s politics.

Since these one-election-stand politicians do not follow state and national politics closely before foraying into this arena and they have no prior experience of politics at school, college and university levels (most of them have not even attended a University, let alone politics on its campus), they take a politically wrong judgement to support an ideology which may find greater resonance at national politics (particularly north India) than at state level.

A state like Manipur need to have specific policies to deal with the issues we go to bed with everyday rather than importing an issue from outside Manipur and trying overtime to convince Manipuris that it is indeed local issue. It is just like catching a cat and trying to upgrade it to a tiger when one cannot catch a real tiger.

In Manipur, there is no terrorism as defined under United Nations Organisation because citizens of a state fighting against state forces for their rights do not qualify to be called terrorists. Manipur is composed of many ethnic groups practising many religions and rituals distinct from one another. Manipur’s landscape is unique which is why we have poor road connectivity, ineffective implementation of govt schemes, and almost non-existent law and order watchdogs.

A turbulent recent history, inter community strife, increasingly losing balance between hillsmen and plainsmen, vulnerable youths, lack of development and political will are all specific to Manipur. These issues cannot be overlooked and sign-up for an altogether different issue.

BJP is an old political party (atleast for Manipuris) formed by reorganising Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), a political party floated in late 1950s when its parent organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was banned from contesting in elections after it was banned for its involvement in M.K. Gandhi’s assassination and later forced by Indian govt to declare itself as a cultural organisation to revoke the ban.

What is appalling about this political party is that they have not changed a bit in their core values of Hindutva, Muslim and minority-hating, Hindu nation, uniform civil code, and anti-cow slaughter which are actually the objectives of the cultural outfit, RSS. This has reinforced the fact that BJP and RSS are no different except for the name.

Many of the BJP leaders graduated from Hindutva laboratories experimenting with Hitler’s brand of nationalism such as the infamous experiment of placing a statue of Ram Lalla at the disputed Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi site in 1949 which ended up with demolition of Babri Masjid (well documented in Anand Patvardhan’s Ram ke naam), running Hindutva laboratories in Maharashtra in 1993, Gujarat in 2002, Muzaffarnagar, UP in 2013 and many more crimes here and there.

Now, is it wrong to say that BJP will not change its constitution and broad agenda for Manipur? If yes, how on earth a Manipuri should be interested in supporting BJP’s quest for these alien issues? Is it wrong to call the decision of some MLA-hopefuls to warm up to BJP a politically wrong judgement?

Congress’ insensitivity

The incumbent Congress govt of Manipur is going to complete third consecutive term under Mr Ibobi Singh before the state goes to polls. Every voter in Manipur will surely analyse Mr Singh’s performance in these terms to take an informed decision to choose a govt in the coming elections. Even after three terms, Congress govt in Manipur has failed miserably to execute plans which are in larger public interest.

The insensitivity of the govt in public issues is writ large in corruption in govt recruitments, irregular salaries, non-functional govt machinery, ‘magic’ transportation, farmland-grabbing in the name of development, shoddy handling and the complex social equations pre and post-ILP movement, drinking water issues, losing sheen of Imphal city and shining Khangabok and Thoubal assembly constituencies, law and order outsourced to village defence force (VDF), increasing contractual employees in the govt offices, gaining wealth of officers and their diminishing interest in performing duties are some of the characteristics of the present govt. Apart from anti-incumbency, this govt is guilty enough and deserve to be thrown out of power through ballot power in the coming polls.

Any alternative?

Either to prioritise our issues or become self-sufficient state, we need to look at state parties rather than national parties for a long-lasting political force to reckon with. The only alternative to Congress and BJP is a regional party with similar mindset professing accountable liberty, labour, and equal opportunity. The party should be able to recognise the flaws of a majoritarian democracy that allow a wealthy criminal to become a political force and educated and futuristic people subservient to them.

Equal representation of votes will serve as the stepping stone of equal opportunity. Public audits should do the system-check. In the absence of these modern concepts, we are forced to elect one among the corrupt persons chanting age-old democratic mantra of socialism, secularism, and many other isms.

We need to think about accountable modern concepts beyond isms. This will be possible through political participation by educated youths. Just like in other states, politics has been conveniently left to corrupt minds only. As a boomerang effect, the educated people are also drawn to corruption by the corrupt system set up by ill-intentioned politicians.

It is high time we thought of making voices of about 12 lakh voters of Manipur heard at the Centre. How long will we nod to 12 lakh-strong voters being called insignificant number?