Helming the affairs of MPCC (I) : Party and the Govt
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 23, 2013 -

Gaikhangam :: Pix - TSE

Party president. In Government protocol it may not amount to much, even if the party happens to be a political party and that too a party which is in power.

However not everything is in black and white. The All India Congress Committee stands as the perfect example of how a Government can be seen to be run and managed from the office of the party's president and not the office of the Prime Minister.

If the name Gandhi spells charisma, an all India appeal which no other name can match up to, a brand to the hoi polloi, then to the Congmen and Congwomen, it must mean something much more than these.

And so it is that today, there is the general perception that the office of the president of the AICC gains precedence over the Prime Minister's Office.

This is not to downplay the Prime Minister in Dr Manmohan Singh, but stating a general perception, which is not without basis.

Sonia Gandhi as president and now Rahul Gandhi as vice president and clearly office bearers of the Congress party gaining eminence over other political leaders holding Constitutional posts is something which is more than felt.

This is at the National level or say at the highest level of the All India Congress Committee, but this is bound to have a trickle down effect and this is perhaps the reason why so much interest is shown on who will become the next president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee.

To the credit of the present incumbent, Mr Gaikhangam certainly went a long way in giving a semblance of dignity and importance to the post of the president of the MPCC (I).

This did not come without a price, for remember Gaikhangam sacrificed a berth in the Council of Ministers for the greater part of the last ten years that the Congress has been in power in Manipur.

Political acumen ? Political ambition ? Or a dedicated party worker ?

Whichever way one looks at it, it should be conceded that in declining to become a member of the Council of Ministers and preferring to remain as the chief of the State Congress unit, the man from Nungba Assembly Constituency certainly helped in refurbishing the image of the chair of the president of the MPCC (I).

Now with the All India Congress Committee more than hinting that it wants a change of guard in the party's set up, it will be interesting to see who ultimately makes it in the end.

On his part too, Mr Gaikhangam has on more than one occasion stated that he is ready to step down as the president of the MPCC (I).

Political speak it may be but this is in line with the purported principle of one man, one post. Things are still hazy, but a change seems to be in line, after the election to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly and before the Parliamentary election scheduled in 2014.

The Congress is definitely on a roll in Manipur, with the Chief Minister leading the party to its third consecutive term in office and scripting a sort of history by capturing 42 seats in the last husting.

However, credit too cannot be taken away from the organisational set up of the party and the party has certainly a lot to be grateful to Mr Gaikhangam.