Common forum for NE political parties : Compulsion of electoral politics
- Sangai Express Editorial :: October 08, 2013 -

A common forum for all political parties of the North East, for which a two day meeting has been scheduled at Guwahati on October 20 and 21.

A move initiated out of the compulsion of electoral politics or guided by the vision to project the common interests of the region to the Centre and the rest of the country ?

This question needs to be viewed in the backdrop of the regional political parties in the North East region getting decimated and totally sidelined, with the exception of the Naga Peoples’ Front in Nagaland.

Again the idea of a common forum should not be seen in isolation of the fact that the eight States of the North East, including Sikkim, get to send only 26 MPs in a House of 545 members.

Pit this figure against States like West Bengal which has 42 MPs, Bihar 54, Maharastra 48 and Gujarat 26 and it should become clear how under represented the North East is in the Lok Sabha.

Population is the basis on which the number of MPs for each State has been worked out and while this may have worked for the largest democracy in the world for more than 60 years, the decision of the regional political parties of the North East to float a common forum and pursue common issues or interests should be seen within this ambit.

This observation has been made on the basis of figures, which are true, but yet at the same time, politics may not always be about figures and hard facts and this too should be taken into account.

What are the common issues under which the different regional political parties of the North East can come together and forge a united stand ?

The Look East Policy could be one, but here again, there are competing forces on land and resources, with each community or ethnic group having its own agenda.

The Alternative Arrangement demand raised by the Nagas of Manipur and the Kuki State demand championed by the Kuki State Demand Committee in Manipur is a case in point.

The demand for a separate State for the Bodos in Assam is another glaring example. Elsewhere too, the differences seem to far outweigh the common issues or common interests under which the idea of common forum has been mooted.

Can there be a common cause between the Naga Peoples’ Front and the Manipur Peoples’ Party ?

The idea is no doubt noble and sounds grand but certain realities have to be taken into consideration.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is obviously an issue in which all the regional political parties in the North East region seem to have a similar view point, which is, it should go.

But has this been able to translate into vote or have the political parties been able to take the people and the voters along with them under this slogan ?

It may be an aberration, but it is important to note that the Congress party in Manipur, which did not mention AFSPA in its election manifesto, was voted back to power in the election to the 10th Assembly with a never before seen mandate-42 MLAs in a House of sixty, while many others bit the dust.

A failure on the part of the other political parties to politically articulate what AFSPA is all about or was it something else ?

This is not in any way to cut short the attempt of forging a common forum for the political parties of the North East but it certainly would not hurt to take note of the reality.

The need then is to first take cognizance of the reality and then work accordingly to zero in on the common issues and common interests of the North East region.

The spirit behind the common forum is noted, but it is not always the spirit that counts in the end. This is the truism.